Break
by Baileys
Summary: A case and a long buried secret at the beginning of Tony and Gibbs deepening familial relationship. Tony/Gibbs Father/Son and team focused.
1. Chapter 1

Tony pulled their sedan to a sudden halt in the spacious parking lot and removed his sun glasses.

"DiNozzo!" Kate shrieked in his ear, "Gibbs is expecting us back at the Navy yard."

"Take a chill pill Katie," Tony slunk out of his seat and walked away from the car, "this won't take a minute."

"That's what you said last time and I ended up having to come in to fetch you." She snapped, leaning across the seats to shout out of the rolled down window as he walked towards the 7/11.

Grinning Tony waved two fingers in the air without turning, "Two minutes!"

Imagining her disgruntled expression to his blatant defiance amused him no end. The day so far had been long and boring thanks to their new Probie reminding the Director of NCIS's policy on the induction of probationary agents. Consequently the whole of the MCRT, Gibbs included, which proved Morrow really did have a sense of humour, had spent the week so far refreshing their mandatory training. And despite his utter delight that the boss was being subjected to equal treatment for a change, Tony wasn't going to survive another long boring afternoon of safety in the workplace without something sugary to keep his mind sharp and the witty retorts coming. Death by PowerPoint was not something he wanted Ducky writing up as his COD after the autopsy.

With the sun beating down warmly on his back and fleeting wishing for another dead diamond smuggler to take them back to Cuba on the Gulf Stream, Tony nonchalantly pushed on the glass doors and let himself inside the small near deserted store. The tinny bell signalling a new customer sounded loudly above him, disturbing the overall quiet of what had to be the post lunchtime rush. A quick glance at his watched confirmed it was indeed nearly 2.30 in the afternoon and they'd lost not only their lunch time, but easily extended the day by a couple hours thanks to some anonymous tipster claiming to have information on a current case they were working. Gibbs was going to be pissed that they were not only late, but the effort was for nothing as well, the tip having been bogus. He considered faking an injury to distract and garner sympathy or "accidently" get trapped in the elevator on his way back in, but didn't think Gibbs would care either way. Not being able to catch the terrorist had him in a permanent worse than usual bad mood. The headslaps received since Ari's reappearance a few weeks ago were actually starting to hurt.

So in no rush to face off against a pissed off Gibbs Tony opted to ignore the current climate at NCIS and casually gaze around the 7/11 instead. Walking around the back of the store he noticed a couple of pretty girls hanging around the magazine rack and decided to do a little recognisance. After all it was already Wednesday and a date for the weekend would be something fun to look forward to after what was shaping up to be a really crappy week so far. Decision made Tony slyly came up beside them and picked up a TV guide, flicking quickly through the pages while covertly looking over. Girl number two made eye contact with him and nudged her friend. Said blonde friend gave him a teasing smile. Keeping it casual, he inched closer trying to listen in on their hushed giggling conversation.

He was about to introduce himself as a Very Special Agent when a sudden sharp pain impacted his side. He froze, not at all convinced he knew what was happening until a warm body quickly pressed itself close to his from behind, not in a fun way, and Tony recognised the feel of the object he was being jabbed with as a gun.

"Hello, Anthony," A gruff voice, likely damaged from years of chain smoking, spoke lowly into his left ear.

"Well hello-" Tony started off cocky, but his sentence petered off to a squeak when the man jabbed the revolver deeper into his ribs.

"Make another sound and I'll blow those pretty ladies brains out," the man paused and Tony felt more than saw him take stock of the room, "Walk towards the door, slowly."

Without dropping the teasing smile he'd walked in with Tony put the magazine he was holding back on the rack and walked away. The two girls looked perplexed by his behaviour but neither appeared concerned by his sudden about face and quickly carried on with what they were doing prior to his appearance.

The gunman set the pace and Tony inched his way carefully towards the exit, fleeting thinking how proud Gibbs would be to see him following instruction without running commentary for once. He was very aware of what might happen the minute they got outside, but with the two girls still in the store, along with cashier, it was too risky for Tony to pull his own weapon. The fact that he was carrying would be something the man escorting him out at gun point would be very aware of given their close proximity and since he'd been addressed by his first name Tony had to assume he was the only one the man wanted. He had to hope he wouldn't risk hurting anyone else unless provoked. Tony fully intended not to provoke him.

"Want to tell me what this is about?" He asked carefully, still walking, still with a smile on his face.

"You'll find out soon enough, junior."

Tony blanched at the intimate use of his suffix, nobody had called him that in years, in fact the only one to ever use that name against him was-

Tony's thoughts were severed by the stores shrill bell ringing in his ear, followed by Kate storming through the door looking like the PMS witch of the east coast.

"DiNozzo!" She shouted, clapping eyes on him and matching over. "Gibbs is calling you, AGAIN!" Kate threw his cell at him, which he must have stupidly left in the car, "I'm not answering it-"

He caught it on reflex, but realised his mistake too late. Kate's angry expression morphed into surprise upon seeing the gun trained on him by his unwanted companion. Tony closed his eyes in defeat and in what had to be less than a second, yet felt like hours, he saw Kate reach for her own weapon at the same time the bad guy lifted his gun and aimed it dead ahead.

"Federal Agent!" Kate shouted.

Tony threw himself into his captor and a gun went off. The store filled with screams as Tony and the gunman went crashing into the shelves behind them. They fought, but the man whose voice was clearly not the only part of him damaged by cigarettes struggled for control, he got a couple of kicks in before Tony finally got the upper hand and knocked the gun away, sending it skidding across the floor out of reach. Flipping the man over Tony was reaching for his own weapon when he caught sight of his face for the first time and froze. Unable to move, unable to breath, the noise around him, the screams were deafening. In that split second of hesitation Tony received a swift back hander across his cheek which sent him flying. He hit the floor sideways, which allowed him a perfect view of the gunman's back as he ran out of the store into the street.

"You alright?" Kate emerged from cover, lowering her own weapon and walking over to him.

"I'm fine." Tony grimaced without moving from his lying prone position.

Feeling his cheek it was burning and he was sure there'd be a hand print left behind considering the force of the smack.

"You don't look it." Kate gazed down at him with a frown.

Breathing heavily Tony mustered the energy to push himself up into a sitting position on the floor. The two girls were still crying softly somewhere behind them, the store owner brandishing his own shot gun at both him and Kate, though a quick flash of Kate's badge had him lowering it with a scowl and muttering something about fetching a broom.

"Why didn't you follow him?" Tony snapped, drawing her attention back to him.

"What the hell happened?" Kate returned, ignoring his question.

"What do you mean? I tried to restrain him, he got the upper hand." Tony stared blankly up at her.

Kate's jaw dropped, her facial expressions alternating between what looked like concern and confusion.

"I _mean_," She stressed, "I leave you alone for five minutes and a man puts a gun to your back!"

Tony opened his mouth to snap a retort but found he had no with which to speak and took several quick, gasping breaths instead.

"It's… nothing." He tried to suggest when he could eventually speak.

Tony could see she wasn't buying it, but it didn't matter, he suddenly had another more pressing issue to deal with. Breathing quick and fast he was finding it very difficult to bring any oxygen into his lungs. His chest was tight and his cheek wasn't the only part of him feeling hot now either. Tony pulled at his collar, hoping that would relieve some of his distress.

"It's not nothing!" Kate shouted at him, having not noticed his distress, "that man just tried to kidnap a federal agent. You!" She punctuated her statement with a finger jab in his face.

He flinched like she'd punched him, which only made the nauseous feeling that was building in his stomach all the worse.

"Kate-" Tony rasped, trying to stand.

Before he could get his feet under him Tony fell back down on to his knees. Keeling over he heard the familiar whirr of first responder sirens in the distance, getting louder and louder with each passing second that he struggled to pull in air. He lay motionless on the cold floor amongst the fallen groceries Kate by his side calling his name. She was telling him to calm down and instructing him to take slow deep breaths. Tony tried to do as she said, but the sound of his own heart beating rapidly in his chest echoed in his ears. The heat was unbearable. He was sweating, shaking and aching like he'd run a marathon. Tony didn't know what the hell was happening to him, but all he could do was wish it to stop.

…

The downtown ER was brimming with people, kids crying, men and woman in various states of undress either looking sick or bleeding. It was July 4th weekend coming up, Washington was in the middle of a heat wave and though some time off would be nice, spending it sick or in quarantine would not be.

The whole waiting room was a cesspool of disease and so Kate avoided standing too close to anyone, choosing instead to hover determinedly near the admit desk awaiting news on Tony. Within minutes of arriving a nurse had handed her a clip board with instructions to fill in his details and now with pen in hand, tip poised over the insurance and medical information form she was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information required. In her time with the Secret Service she and her colleagues had resolutely managed to remain unharmed and had never had the pleasure of filling one of these out. Trust it be DiNozzo to make him her first.

"What happened?" Gibbs stormed up, appearing at her side surprising her.

"How did you get here so fast?" She gaped, having literally just put her phone away after calling him.

"Kate?!" Gibbs growled at her.

He looked as angry as ever, though through the hint of impatience in his tone she determined his real feelings.

"Tony's being checked out, but he's okay." Kate responded softly, attempting to ease his fear, after all she had only managed to tell him briefly what had happened and where they were before he'd disconnected the line.

"I meant at the store." Gibbs snapped after a beat, his huff of impatience more telling than anything else he could have said in that moment.

Kate clicked her tongue in an effort not to say anything she may regret later and rolled her eyes at his obtuseness. He hired her, he knew she was a profiler and a damn good one; hence she wasn't falling for the 'I don't give a damn about anything but the case' attitude. His body language; fists tightly clasped, the inability to stay still, gaze wandering rampantly around the room trying to catch a glimpse of the person he'd broken god knew how many speeding limits to see screamed of fear and concern, so why he was playing the bastard role to the hilt she just didn't no. In truth he'd been edgy like this with all of them since Ari had reappeared and though shooting the supposed double agent in autopsy a few weeks back had relieved some of Gibbs' stress over the whole mess, it was clearly nowhere near enough for him to relax a little. It then occurred to her what he might be thinking now…

"It wasn't Ari." Kate said bluntly, putting it out there.

"You know that for sure?" Gibbs asked straight, confirming she'd been right.

"Well I can't be 100% that he wasn't involved, but the guy I saw was white, late forties and looked like a junkie." Kate reeled off proudly, "not the type of person Ari would be working with."

She heard Gibbs' disapproving growl of agreement more so than the words, but his grudging acceptance of her profiling skills was enough for her.

"So what did happen?" He asked again only slightly calmer this time, his mask of indifference slipping enough for her to see the worry in his eyes.

"Well-" Kate started and immediately stopped, that was a little harder to explain.

When she'd walked into the store unexpectedly and caught sight of the gun in her partners back her reaction hadn't been fast enough, the man would have hit her had Tony not knocked him down, sending the bullet wide. As soon as he fired she'd shouted to the other occupants of the store to get down and sort her own cover. Gun still raised and trained on the man she watched Tony fight and get the upper hand, had thought it was over until he froze.

The look of fear, and ultimately, recognition on Tony's face when he came face to face with his potential kidnapper was why she was struggling now.

"…they fought, but he hit Tony and got away."

Gibbs was giving her The Look that said more than words ever could and from that alone she knew he knew she was leaving something out.

"He only shot out when you made him then?"

"Yeah, he was there for DiNozzo, no doubt." Kate nodded grimly, knowing that made this an NCIS investigation, one which Tony would be at the centre.

Under normal circumstances she had no doubt he'd love the attention and milk it for all its worth, but Kate didn't think he'd much care for his starring role as the victim again. It had only been two months since she and Gibbs had rescued Tony from the sewers. An experience though over pretty quickly, had seriously knocked the confidence out of him.

Kate could still picture him, dirty from head to toe, hair dusty and un-coiffed, hands shaking like a virgin on a third date.

"_You okay DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked gruffly nodding at her before walking towards Tony gun pointing at the floor._

_The sewers, to put it bluntly, stunk. She was glad Tony was okay, but honestly all Kate wanted was to get out and go home, take a long hot shower and forget all the stress of the last few hours never happened. She followed in Gibbs footsteps contemplating her pipe dream, coming up behind Tony to secure the woman he still held tightly within his grasp. She had holstered her gun and was just taking out her cuffs when she saw Gibbs' minute headshake warning her to stay back. Surprised she nearly opened her mouth to ask why, but one look at Tony answered the question before she could even ask it. He hadn't relaxed upon their approach, if anything he'd become tenser, breathing fast and irregular, his fingertips almost white with the pressure he was applying to his grip on their suspect. _

"_Hey Tony," Kate sidled up beside him, hands held out front where he could see._

_She talked delicately, about whatever she could think of while Gibbs advanced forward and slowly removed Tony's hands from the suspect, eventually releasing her and pushing her off to Kate, never once loosing contact with Tony. _

That had been the first time Kate had seen Gibbs look nervous. It seemed like he didn't know what to do, or rather knew what he wanted to do, just wasn't sure if he should do it. Kate guessed from the sympathetic looks he'd been throwing Tony's way that Gibbs had wanted to hug the stuffing out of him there and then, but whereas Gibbs was wanting and DiNozzo likely willing the uncertainty of the moment hung between them like uninvited relatives at Christmas. They played nice and pretended everything was fine while hiding their true feelings about how it could have turned out so different, or Gibbs did at least. Tony made it as far as the NCIS elevator before he lost all pretence of being fine and bared his vulnerable side in the guise of demanding caring attention. Suffice to say the Tony DiNozzo they rescued from the sewers that day resembled more scared little boy than fearless federal agent.

It occurred to Kate that even after being drugged and imprisoned Tony had refused medical treatment by the paramedics, choosing instead to let Ducky look him over at the scene. Yet this afternoon he'd let the paramedics take him without a fight. That might explain why Gibbs was looking so out of sorts now. He'd been expecting something much worse.

"So he didn't get shot or anything?" Gibbs spoke after what felt like a never ending silence, shifting the topic of conversation back onto DiNozzo's condition and bringing then full circle.

"No, just a little banged up." Kate said cagily, trying to avoid mention of what the doctors had since diagnosed as a panic attack.

"So why is he here?" He asked, once again glaring at her like she was a suspect in interrogation.

It seemed today Gibbs was living up to his reputation, there really was nothing the man missed and she saw that in reality, she had little choice but to tell him. Everything.

…

Tony ripped the sticky heart monitoring pads off his chest and the blood pressure cuff off his arm before grabbing his things from the bottom of his bed and quickly getting dressed.

"What are you doing?" A nurse interrupted him as he was pulling up his pants, walking in with a tray of needles and blood collecting vials.

Shrugging his shirt on, leaving it undone Tony ignored her and slipped into his shoes.

"I'm fine, seriously." He said bundling up the rest of his things and heading for the door of the shared cubical.

"We need to run tests." The nurse put the tray down on the nearest surface, placing her hands on her hips, blocking his way.

Hitching up his unfastened pants Tony barged passed her, nearly knocking her over in his determination to get the hell out. He approached the nearest nurses' station and while buttoning up his shirt and belt demanded without any of his usual charm or flare to sign the required AMA form. The lone administrator looked him up and down and cautiously signalled the security guard stood a few feet behind them. Turning to see the large burley man approach Tony decided he honestly didn't care if the hospital got paid or not, he spun on his heels and all but ran past the admit desk towards the exit. He made it as far as the first sliding door before someone grabbed him from behind. One hand landed on his on his arm at first, which was swiftly joined by a second when he tried to shrug the person off. Ready for a fight Tony spun around, expecting to face off with the security guard.

"Let me go!" Tony screamed in his face.

"Hey!" Gibbs shouted, slapping the back of Tony's head. "Where's the fire DiNozzo?"

Tony immediately stilled the fight or flight response draining out of him faster than Abby could drink a Caf-Pow.

"Kate shouldn't have called you, I'm fine." He covered, pretending he hadn't nearly let loose on his boss.

Tony avoided making direct eye contact, gaze shifting from corner to corner much like the rest of him that was practically vibrating with nervous energy. Like always Gibbs did the exact opposite and kept his own gaze strong and steady, the glare one of the best weapons in his private arsenal. Feeling incredibly uncomfortable Tony did he best to remain in control, losing it in front of Gibbs was not an option for him today.

"You been seen?" The boss asked him straight, glare still fixed in place missing nothing.

"Yes," Tony heard the crack in his own voice, but didn't care anymore; he just needed to leave the hospital. "Please…" Tony finally looked him in the eye. "Take me home."

Gibbs held his gaze steady, the only hint that his plea had surprised him was a slight narrowing of the eyes, there and then gone again just as quickly. Tony maintained the contact hoping like hell Gibbs would be too suspicious to challenge him now and let it drop.

"Sure." Gibbs relaxed the grip on his arm, but didn't let go.

Even though Tony was pretty sure it was because Gibbs didn't trust him right now, the contact offered some much needed comfort nevertheless.

…

They drove back to the Navy Yard in silence, Kate up front with Gibbs and Tony in back. He'd not fought her for shot gun, which was a sure sign to Kate that something more than nearly being kidnapped was bothering him. And if nothing else his little scene at the hospital proved that. She couldn't quite believe it had actually happened. When Tony had ran passed them heading for the exit, looking much like he did that day in the sewers, only less grubby Gibbs didn't even blink. Swooping into action he pulled Tony up short and since Tony didn't make a habit of yelling at Gibbs, his admiration for their boss bordering on hero worship, she surmised that could be the reason for DiNozzo's subdued mood now. But then that didn't explain why he was in such a rush to leave the hospital in the first place did it? She'd travelled with him in the ambulance, held the oxygen mask over his face, was he planning on just ditching her there?

They arrived at NCIS quicker than she'd expected, even with Gibbs at the wheel. Tony barely waited for the car to stop before jumping out and making his way determinedly inside without waiting for them. Kate remained seated, watching him go.

"He's embarrassed he had a panic attack." She said evenly.

"You think?" Gibbs gave his usual glib response reserved for when anyone, though usually Tony, said something so obvious.

"There's more going on though, he's still shaken and it can't just be the attempted kidnapping. Tony's stronger than that, he's been through worse." She looked to Gibbs expectantly.

"Okay." He nodded.

"Okay? Are you kidding?" Kate shrieked, but was cut her off with a mere look. "Sorry, but Tony doesn't panic."

Gibbs snorted and she stared at him, waiting for him to share, knowing he had an idea about something.

"I'll get metro to transfer all evidence to Abby, we're taking the case. I want you to arrange security for tonight, DiNozzo will have to remain in protective custody until we have an idea about what this guy wants with him."

"Oh he's going to love that." Kate laughed, imaging all the innuendoes and uncouth jokes Tony would make at her expense.

"Any ID on the guy?" Gibbs asked, moving the topic along.

"No, but I got a good look at his face. I think I could identify him. Tony got a better look because he pushed him over, fell right on top of him."

"Sketch it and get it to Abby." Gibbs answered distractedly, getting out of the car.

"What about Tony?" She asked, chasing after him.

Gibbs kept walking and didn't offer an answer.

…

Music beat loudly in the background as Abby slapped her hand down on the keyboard.

"And we're done!" She announced after scanning Kate's sketch into the system.

The facial recognition software launched and they both sat back and watched it work.

"Done Abs?" Gibbs questioned her, strolling in with Tony looking sad on his heels.

"Well not done, done, but-" Abby cut herself off getting a good look at Tony for the first time since she'd heard what had happen. "Oh my god, look at your cheek!"

Kate smiled as Abby launched herself at Tony, giving him a big hug which he gratefully returned. She had to admit the red mark that had faded some at the hospital now looked dark and purplish. It would be a proper bruise before the day was out.

"You got a hit." Gibbs spoke, just before Abby's machine started beeping.

Abby glanced at her machines over Tony's shoulder, releasing him with a smile and wink at Kate she walked over and hit a few buttons on her keyboard.

"I got a hit." Abby repeated. "And our bad guy of the day is none other than…" she hit a key bringing up a police booking photo on her big screen, "Craig Bower, ex-con out of New York and general gun for hire, very bad rap sheet. Not a nice guy Gibbs."

"So what does he want with you Tony?" Kate questioned naturally, turning to face him.

The lack of witty retort garnered the rest of the room's attention as well, making them turn too.

"DiNozzo?!" Gibbs shouted to Tony's retreating back as he sprinted out of the room.

Kate shared a surprised look with Abby. When she'd turned around Tony had been frozen to the spot, staring at Bower's image on the as if he were the devil incarnate. The minute she met his gaze he spun on his heels, running out the lab without looking back. Gibbs stood staring at the exit looking bewildered, an expression she wasn't used to seeing on his face at all.

"Gibbs?" She commanded his attention, feeling the need to do _something_.

He gave her a brief nod of in the direction Tony had left and she immediately went after him. Once out the door she checked the corridor, noting they hadn't heard the elevator Kate pushed open the door to the stairwell and her efforts were immediately rewarded. She found Tony sat on the first flight top step, head held between raised knees, taking short quick breaths just like he had been at the scene. Kate eased the door shut behind her, checking no one had followed her before she spoke.

"You okay?" she started, forcing casualness to her tone.

Tony didn't raise his head, but Kate heard the sudden intake of breath before he answered.

"I'm-"

"DiNozzo, you say you're fine and I'll shoot you myself."

Tony laughed. A short humourless chuckled that petered out to a sob.

Kate's irritation morphed into shock, but she quickly schooled her expression in case he chose then to come out of hiding.

"What's so funny?" She asked, pretending like nothing was different, like he wasn't as close to a break down as she'd ever seen him.

"You've only been here ten months and that's the third time you've threatened to shoot me. I must be getting rusty anyone else would have followed through by now." Tony spoke hesitantly without lifting his head.

"Ha well," Kate forced humour into her voice, "believe it or not DiNozzo, I'd actually miss having you around…

Tony looked up, seeming honestly surprised by her statement. It was then that she realised he was too vulnerable for jokes, despite the fact he'd started it. The hope shinning bright in his eyes that some of what she had just said was true was testament to that.

"..If you weren't here, who would Gibbs slap in the back of the head?" She finished.

His face mocked hurt, but she knew the truth and beneath that pout was the relief that she hadn't admitted to seeing that brief look of hope in his eyes. There was a little desperation in DiNozzo that went a lot deeper than he'd ever let people see. She and Gibbs had been paired while on a stakeout once and the subject of DiNozzo had come up. Originally she'd just been making a joke, but her joke profile of Tony high-lighted so much that made sense. Kate had then questioned Gibbs about Tony's origins, but his avoidance of the subject told her more than he could have said with words. He clearly knew things about Tony that he didn't want, or simply couldn't, share. She had dropped the subject without a fight, but it'd stayed in the back of her mind.

Kate had seen Gibbs give Tony a back handed compliment many times and had originally thought it was cruel, but after Tony went missing with Sacko she saw how fragile he could be, practically begging Gibbs to say he cared about him, like if Gibbs didn't then no one else in the world would either. In those moments Tony was wearing his heart on his sleeve and not in a healthy, life affirming way.

If Tony thought anyone could see his weakness, he'd run, unable to face his true nature and maintain his Don Juan persona if he thought everyone knew how he really thought of himself. After nearly a year of working together Kate had learned for all his bravado, Tony could be easily hurt by the simplest of things. So they all played the game and kept the status quo.

"Tony what happened today?" Kate went in for the kill, knowing his defences were down enough that he might give in, but not so fragile that he'd resent her for asking.

"I honestly don't know." He sighed, being honest with her for once.

"How can you not know?"

"I just don't, okay." Tony raised his voice, but caught himself and calmed immediately, "In the store I was fine, then I…"

"Then you what?" Kate pushed, unwilling to wait, to give him time to change his mind and make a joke instead of telling her the truth.

"I saw his face and froze." He admitted like it cost him dearly.

Kate looked over her shoulder as if she was seeing through the orange walls to the lab, the image of Craig Bower still on the screen.

"Do you think you've seen him before?" Kate walked up the stairs towards him.

"No!" Tony shot up, putting space between them.

Kate held her hands up and closed the new distance. If that wasn't a conditioned response she'd eat DiNozzo's socks.

"Tony, don't freak out-"

"I am not freaking out I'm," Tony ran a frustrated hand through his hair, "I'm … I'm…"

"Freaking out." Kate said bluntly, "DiNozzo he was in there for you, he knew you."

"Well I don't know him!" Tony shouted again, looking almost angry if it wasn't for the brightness of his eyes.

Kate stopped, stunned at what she was seeing, Tony was acting like someone who had PTSD and Bower was his trigger. She looked at his hands which he was holding high against his chest as if to protect himself. His eyes were red, sweat breaking out on his forehead and he was trembling. Changing tactics Kate stepped back and beckoned Tony to come back down the stairs to join her, fully intending to take him to Ducky, but Tony refused to budge.

Kate's phone rang and she cursed its intrusion. She took her eyes off Tony momentarily, but it was all that was needed, by the time she took the phone off her belt to see who it was and looked back up he was gone.

…

"What's going on with Tony?" Abby asked Gibbs once Kate was out the door.

Gibbs stared after his agents wondering the same thing himself, before turning on Abby and asking about the man who had tried to abduct his agent earlier today.

"Does Bower have any Navy connections?" He came up on her left side, making Abby spin around to reface the screen.

Gibbs heard her audible huff at his rebuff, but remained steadfast and focused. Abby typed on her keyboard.

"Nope. No navy or military connections." She announced. "Is Tony okay?" She tried again, undeterred.

"We ever arrest him?" Gibbs once again ignored her.

She tapped a few more times, but again nothing.

"You want me to source out Tony's previous forces see if they crossed paths there." Gibbs gave her a look. "Cross checking and… nothing!" She announced, he sensed she was about to ask another DiNozzo related question when the system gave her the beep. "Oh that's interesting…"

"Abs-" Gibbs urged when she didn't elaborate.

"Hmm?"

"What?" He snapped, joining her in looking at the screen.

"A reference to the name Anthony DiNozzo came up…" Abby frowned, stomping one high heel to the floor, "but in a file from 1978, New York PD? Must be a coincidence, Tony would have been about, what… four?" Abby clicked the link that led her to the case files.

"Six. And you know how I feel about coincidences Abby." Gibbs pointed at the file folder labelled Bower/June 30th 1978 on her screen, "open it."

His gut was definitely churning and Gibbs feared what they'd find inside relating to his agent. There was no doubt in his mind that his Anthony DiNozzo and the one referenced in the file were going to be one and the same.

Abby clicked a few more times, then hit her keyboard.

"Can't," she muttered angrily.

"Can't?"

"The file's been sealed. I don't have clearance. Whatever's in it someone high up doesn't want anyone to see. Very super spy… Maybe if I can go via a different ISP I can download the file from a secure location and …"

"Abby?" He snapped.

He didn't understand what she was going on about and didn't care so long as she got him into that file.

"Okay, sheesh Gibbs." Abby hit the keyboard a few more times in succession. "I can try… maybe a cache of the original pre blocked file still exists, I mean it wasn't always sealed because otherwise why upload it onto the new system much easy to pretend it doesn't exist though in that case there might be a deleted file that I can retrieve, depends when the file got deleted and…"

Gibbs saw the screen change Abby type some more and then a scanned document pop up. He leaned in closer and read what was on the screen as did Abby. They both paled at the meagre information offered in what appeared to be a brief summary of what Bower had been charged for in 1978. Gibbs flipped out his phone angrily as Abby uttered an emphatic 'oh my god' under her breath.

"Call McGee down here, I want the full contents of that file NOW!" He shouted at Abby just before the person he was calling picked up. "Where's DiNozzo?" He shouted down the line at Kate.

Gibbs heard some shuffling then Kate's out of breath voice.

"Gibbs I think there's more going on here-"

"I know there is Kate, get him back to the lab." Gibbs hung up without waiting for her reply.

…

Kate stared at her phone, then flipped it shut and replaced it on her belt. Tony had run off and she'd tried to follow, but after running up the stairs she'd entered the corridor of the floor above out of breath and found nothing. Refusing to give up Kate made a search of the corridors around the gym and armoury before heading up to the bullpen.

She checked Tony's desk and was pleased to see his bag was still there, she thought about looking through his draws, but wanted to make certain it was necessary first. Whereas Tony had no problem going through her things on a daily basis, whether she was present or not, Kate had a little more respect for his privacy. After making a quick call to the front gate, checking Tony hadn't signed out she left instructions for the security attendants to detain him if he tried to leave and call her immediately, not Gibbs. She ignored their obvious questions, their concern for her partner not surprising her. Tony was someone who everyone knew and most really liked in one way or another, the ones that didn't like him, still knew him, whether they wanted to or not.

Giving up her search, unsatisfied that she couldn't locate him, but content enough knowing he was in the Navy Yard somewhere, she walked back down to the lab to explain her failure to Gibbs in person. Kate entered the lab without DiNozzo and instead of the expected bark she discovered Abby, McGee and Gibbs all looking at the computer screen with a shared look of profound sorrow.

"Is it even possible?" McGee was asking.

"Is what possible?" Kate asked, drawing their attention.

Gibbs spun around and pinned her with an anxious glare.

"You find him?"

"No," Kate uttered, wondering what on Earth she'd missed while looking for DiNozzo, "I looked everywhere Gibbs his stuff is still here-"

"Find him!" He snapped, his panic completely disproportional to the threat.

"What's happen?" She asked pointedly with a frown.

When no answer came Kate looked over at McGee who immediately averted his eyes, Abby looked tearful, which was slightly strange considering Tony had been missing less than an hour, but Gibbs was worst of all, he looked afraid.

"You need to see this." Abby said quietly and then Kate knew for definite something was very, very wrong.

…

Tony stormed out of the building avoiding contact with anyone who might recognise him and call Gibbs. He knew he looked like crap. After ditching Kate he'd run into the restroom and thrown up. He had fully intended on going back to Abby's lab to face the music, that was until he saw his face in the rest room mirror. Red rimmed eyes, shallow pale complexion, if he lay down Tony was sure he'd be mistaken for one of Ducky's corpses. Knowing he couldn't face his teammates looking the way he was Tony splashed water on his face and ran shaking hands through mushed up hair before sneaking out, taking a detour via the evidence garage and exiting the building through the back door into the parking lot. Tony reached his car quickly, only realising when he shoved his hands in his pockets that he'd left his keys in his bag upstairs. Cursing his own stupidity Tony dithered, unsure whether to hotwire his own car or go back for his keys and hope no one saw him.

A noised sounded from behind him in the nearly vacant lot, prompting him to spin around. Searching through the darkness for the source Tony's special agent senses kicked in and the hair stood up on the back of his neck. The night air was cool compared to the summer heat of earlier in the day and he felt a sudden chill come over him. He should have been home hours ago, but although they'd missed the mandatory training while at the ER, the reporting and evidence processing had progressed well into the late evening. He had wanted something exciting to happen, to get him out of training and on a case, but hadn't quite meant like this, investigating a crime and being the victim were not mutually exclusive in the entertainment stakes. Not that crimes where entertaining, _"they are not movies, DiNozzo"_ Tony repeated the mantra that Gibbs had drilled into him during his first few weeks on the job.

As he decided to go back inside, either for his keys or to ask Gibbs if he could leave he wasn't sure, only the noise sounded again before he could move, this time louder and more deliberate. Tony reached for his weapon, only realising too late that wasn't there either. Tony stamped his foot, and slapped his face cursing his utter stupidity before taking cover as a dark figure approached. Footsteps, steady and certain got louder and louder until the trainer clad feet where directly in front of him. Tony felt unable to contain his fear and not for the first time today questioned his own sanity.

"Good night Agent DiNozzo." Gerald waved as he passed him by, head phones in heading for his own vehicle.

Tony waved politely back and smiled, straightening himself up. He rolled his eyes at his own paranoia and let out the breath he'd been holding onto.

"Get a grip, DiNozzo." He chastised himself in a Gibbs like tone.

"That'd be a good plan."

Tony jumped upon hearing the strange voice.

"Who are you?" Tony turned and stepped back out into the open, looking around to see if Gerald had reached his car already.

Not that he'd be much use in a fight, what with his shoulder still keeping him out. Probably only here to use the gym, lucky guy had a simple life…

"You know who I am, Anthony." The man answered, drawing back his attention and closing the distance between them as fast as Tony could make it, "we go well back."

Tony sized the man up, he wasn't Bower, that was for damn sure, but there _was_ something familiar about this guy and not just because he claimed they went 'way back'.

"How? No offence but you're like what, sixty? Seventy? Not sure I remember you from my graduating class." Tony shrugged and smiled.

"Always was a comedian," the man laughed, a fake chuckle that sent a shiver down Tony's spine. "Even as a kid you could always make everyone laugh."

Tony felt his stomach drop all the way to his feet and could barely get his next word out.

"W-what?"

"All in good time Anthony, I'm sorry about Craig earlier, he was not meant to cause such a fuss. Believe me when I say we want you to help us willingly this time." The man smiled and nodded, "I'll be in touch."

The man winked at him, then turned and walking away leaving Tony feeling not only confused, but with new determination to find out what the hell was going on.

…

"Gibbs what are we going to do?" Abby asked urgently pacing her lab.

Gibbs shook his head, the information they'd discovered still being processed in his mind and not making a lick sense. This had never come up in any of Tony's background checks, even the officially one's, how did something this big get by him?

"Maybe it's not him?" McGee offered trying to break the suffocating tension in the room.

"Possible." Kate sighed, "But unlikely, same birthdate, same name-"

"Same home town," Abby joined in.

"No such thing as a coincidence." Gibbs sighed out, wishing that for once he'd be wrong, but they'd been bouncing that idea around for a while now and it was time to face facts and deal with what they knew.

The dinging of the elevator out in the corridor alerted Gibbs to his presence and everyone turned at once to see Tony enter, looking much more put together than when he'd left.

"Abs, Probie there you are." He greeted enthusiastically, "I need you to pull footage off the cameras in the parking lot I…" Tony trailed off upon seeing the twin looks of apprehension and distress on each of their faces. "What?"

Gibbs continued to stare, feeling protective and sad and angry all at once.

"Tony we know where you know Bower from." Abby spoke up shyly when the rest of them remained quiet. "It's ok." Abby nodded, forcing a weak smile.

"It is?" Tony stepped back, so he was close to the doors.

Gibbs gut clenched, he'd gotten to know Tony well enough over the last two and a half years to realise it would only take one false step from them for him to make a run for it again. Only this time Gibbs wasn't so sure he'd be coming back once he knew that they knew.

"Yeah," Kate jumped in, "Why didn't you just tell me? I could've helped, you reaction makes perfect sense, there's nothing to be embarrassed about, but what we need to work out is what he wants from you now." Kate looked to Gibbs for confirmation.

He saw her out of the corner of his eye, but Gibbs kept his gaze on Tony, gauging his reactions to what she was saying, something was off.

"Kate," Tony said carefully, yet carefree, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Gibbs believed him. Tony had looked tense earlier, but wherever he'd run off to he'd clearly got his head on straight, because he seemed just fine now. He wouldn't be fine if he knew exactly who Bower was, and besides Gibbs thought his gut would know if Tony was keeping a secret like this from him.

"You don't remember?" Gibbs stepped toward him, prepared to stop him from running if it became necessary.

"Remember what?" Tony asked, looking suddenly agitated, as if the close proximity was uncomfortable.

Clue two that something was off. Tony never respected personal space, and was rarely bothered when someone invaded his. They could be in a room the size of the Potomac and Tony would still be mere inches from his side at all times, always within easy reach.

Gibbs turned around and shared a knowing look with Abby, McGee and Kate.

"Okay WHAT?" Tony shouted, irritation bleeding through his words.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs calmly took Tony's arm and guided him out, "With me."

Walking him into the elevator Gibbs no soon got it moving when he brought it to a stop.

"Boss what's going on, you look…" Tony shuffled, backing up to the wall, again putting unnatural space between them, "you're scaring me."

Gibbs didn't doubt that, he was scaring himself.

"You really don't remember Bower?" He asked tightly, eyes narrowed.

"No, I told you when we left the hospital that I didn't know who he was." Tony sounded stressed, hand actions alluding to his sense of building panic.

"The ER docs think you had a panic attack, that true?" Gibbs played his hand, forcing Tony to either lie or admit the truth.

"Did Kate tell you that?" Tony aimed his own narrowed eyed gaze at him, but Gibbs refused to back down.

"Answer the question DiNozzo."

"No boss," Tony growled affronted, then immediately deflated, which gave Gibbs his real answer.

"You recognised Bower at the scene and froze," he summarised and moved on. "That what happened when you saw Bowers face on the scene too?"

Tony looked away from him, but Gibbs knew the kid well enough to believe Tony couldn't outright lie to his face.

"I've never panicked like that on the job, never." Tony pointed out, sounding worn and genuinely confused by his own behaviour.

Gibbs took Tony's un-bruised cheek in his palm and fixed his gaze. Thankfully, though he shrunk away from the sudden movement, Tony didn't flinch at the physical contact.

"Abby found a connection." Gibbs informed him calmly, "From when you were a kid."

Tony's faced shuttered.

"He called me Junior." He admitted quietly, Gibbs dropped his hand and listened, "And Anthony. I went outside, just now. After seeing his photo, I couldn't, I didn't - was… leaving," Tony gave him a lopsided smile of apology, but Gibbs wasn't going to worry about that now and encouraged him to continue. "A man was waiting for me, not Bower, someone else, but they know each other… he said I knew him when I was a kid and that they wanted me to help willingly this time. I don't know what that means."

Gibbs paled upon hearing Tony had been approached a second time and inside NCIS, he had questions, but swung into immediate action, pulling out his cell phone and releasing the elevator car.

"McGee, get security to the front gates now!" Gibbs ran out of the elevator as soon as the doors open on the squad room.

"Boss he's gone, I was coming down to Abby to get her bring up the footage…" Tony chased after him, but when Gibbs didn't stop he shouted, "What the hell is going on?"

Gibbs took the stairs up to MTAC two at a time, only stopping when he heard Tony's desperate plea for answers to his admittedly erratic behaviour. Scanning the bullpen and the various other desks below he could see the office was generally empty, the dim night lights were on and the agents working late noticeable only by their bright desk lamps.

"June 30th 1978. That date mean anything to you, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, walking back down to meet Tony halfway.

Tony stared blankly back at him for a near minute.

"Other than it's exactly twenty-five years ago to the day?" He joked with a nervous smile, then asked more quietly, "What's going on Gibbs, what do you know?"

Gibbs stood before Tony and assessed his current state. Though it often appeared like he had no patience for the young man that got more headslaps from him than any other agent in NCIS history, the truth was Tony was actually quite special. Stan hadn't been wrong when he'd told Tony he must really like him. He did. So that made what he was about to tell him so much harder. This wasn't a case he could detach from when it was over. Once the details were out there it could potential change the dynamics of the team forever, Kate was already talking to Tony with more care than she'd ever shown him. Abby was sure to over Abby him for the foreseeable future and though Gibbs couldn't see himself treating Tony like a fragile flower any time soon, he definitely felt an ache in his chest that had nothing to do with the seven coffee's he'd had since lunch.

"Abby found a sealed file in Bowers rap sheet, from NYPD." Gibbs started, pausing to see if anything he had said triggered DiNozzo's memory, getting nothing but a blank stare in return, he continued. "Craig Bower was arrested and imprisoned for child abduction in '78."

"Who did he abduct?" Tony asked him nervously and Gibbs thought he had a right to that.

Taking a step closer to Tony, reaching out and holding his arm, in comfort not restraint, Gibbs answered him.

"You, DiNozzo."

Tbc…

Thanks for reading ;) Next chapter coming soon…


	2. Chapter 2

Tony looked back at Gibbs like he was making it all up.

"Boss I think I'd remember being kidnapped." He laughed, gazing down and around expectantly at the deserted squad room. "This is a joke right? Kate's winding me up - it's nearly my birthday she's playing a trick, right?"

His amusement was cut abruptly short when he noticed Gibbs wasn't wearing his usual stoic glare or even the less often seen rare smile.

"Tony," Gibbs said softly, squeezing his arm where he held it. "This isn't a joke."

A laugh bubbled up inside him, fighting for release, Tony tried to deny it life, but the pressure became too great and it burst forth. Grabbing the railing in front of him Tony attempted to remain on his feet, but his turned to jelly legs couldn't support him and he sank slowly towards the floor.

Gibbs still had a hand on him and moved quickly, wrapping both arms around his waist, cushioning his descent. Tony was glad he hadn't just let him fall, his head hurt enough without adding yet another knock to it today.

"Boss?" Tony begged unashamedly, head in hands.

"Bower took you from a park in Long Island while you were out with your father" Gibbs spoke quietly from above him, "held you for three days, from June 30th to July 2nd."

"Well, don't sugar coat it for me," he quipped through the fingers still covering his face.

His mind went on rewind back to the moment he walked into the store. He couldn't remember if he'd heard Bower enter after him, or if he'd already been inside. Was he being followed or did he just happen to bump into his former abductor and the guy felt like celebrating their twenty-five year reunion? Pre-planned or coincidence? Tony knew which side Gibbs would ere on.

"Do you know why?" Tony asked shortly, asking about both then and now.

Though he knew it was an unreasonable request for details after only a few hours, when he didn't receive any kind of a response Tony risked a glance up at Gibbs. He relaxed a little when he saw his attention wasn't on him and followed his gaze. He was glaring down at those random few who were brave enough to be staring back up at them from their desks below. Tony didn't blame anyone for being intrigued. He was after all a giggling idiot, having a mini breakdown in full view of the whole office. Not a great way to end the day, the boss was sure to give a headslap for this one.

With thoughts of punishment in mind Tony slowly but surely pulled himself together and though he didn't bother to stand up he did drop the hands from his face and attempt to school his expression to something more resembling cool professionalism.

With Gibbs' glare aimed at them the brave few quickly and quietly dissipated and before long it was just them alone in the squad room. Tony waited quietly and held his breath, preparing for a slap, a yell or less desirable, but no less expected, for Gibbs to simply walk away and leave him to get his shit together.

Putting all his energy into keeping his body absolutely still Tony couldn't prevent the sudden intake of breath when Gibbs unexpectedly dropped to one knee in front of him.

"Whatever this is, believe me I won't let anything happen to you."

Tony swallowed and he could feel his lower lip trembling. Gibbs never spoke delicately to him. It could only mean he was in some serious trouble that even the boss didn't think he'd come out of okay or he was doing a really bad job of keeping it together and Gibbs was being gentle so as not to push him further over the edge into all out sobbing.

"Hey, you listening DiNozzo?" Gibbs tapped him lightly on the back of the head.

"Listening boss," He nodded, accepting confirmation of the latter explanation with a sniff.

"Good boy," Gibbs smiled softly at him. "Now do you remember anything that can help us find these guys?"

Tony thought about it, but shook his head, no, he really didn't. Fear was creeping up on him again, like smoke it was swirling around his mind, clouding every rationale thought. He'd been unable to control his reaction each and every time he'd come face to face with man Gibbs called Craig Bower yet the name meant nothing to him, he didn't even think he _recognised_ the face, his reaction was more instinctive, which was why it was so damn hard to control. The second man from the parking lot had seemed familiar, but Tony couldn't place him either.

To compound his fears further try as he might he certainly didn't remember being abducted when he was six. Sure it was a long time ago, but even so Tony remembered being a kid, having friends, going to school, summer camps. He remembered his Mom being home a lot, his Dad being away a lot. He remembered being spanked so hard he couldn't sit for weeks after ruining one of his Dad's ski suits at Halloween. He even remembered the night his mom died, and if he was going to block memories out surely that one would be on the top of his list of 'times to forget'?

The no memory part was scaring him the most, giving his imagination way too much room to run with. He'd worked child abduction cases, seen what bad people are capable of and the mere suggestion that anything like that could have happened to him… Tony screwed his eyes shut. Cutting off that train of thought before he went somewhere he couldn't possible return from. Feeling like his entire life, everything he thought he knew about himself, had been called into question Tony looked around the near empty office that had been his home for the past two and a half, near three years. From where he sat, his back against the railing slumped on the floor between MTAC and the bullpen, things seemed so much bigger all of a sudden, like if he wasn't careful he could easily get lost in the orange corridors and never be found.

Feeling a light tugging on his arm Tony came back to the reality of his situation with the realisation that there were so many more questions he wanted to ask.

"Come on," Gibbs pulled him up, "you're staying with me tonight."

Tony smiled gratefully, his eyes tearing with relief that he wouldn't be made to go with strangers to some safe house. He'd hoped Gibbs hadn't noticed his overreaction but the warm palm that suddenly cupped his cheek was very telling. Tony nodded his appreciation and wanted to apologise for losing it so badly over something so small, but he had a feeling Gibbs knew just how much the offer meant to him.

The boss grasped hold off his arm and without a word or eye contact Tony obediently followed him up the rest of the stairs, heading for MTAC. As they walked in silence Tony's mind wandered, he thought back on the last few times he'd stayed at Gibbs' house. He'd stayed for over a month at the beginning of the year when his apartment building's boiler blew up, and six months before that he'd stayed for an extended period after they learned one of his undercover marks from his Baltimore days was "looking" for him. On both occasions he'd had a pretty good time, though he'd bet Gibbs probably had a different opinion of their forced shared time together out of the office. However, despite their obvious lifestyle differences, Gibbs had never made him feel unwelcome, like his door was always open to him whenever he needed it.

Of course it was literally left open as well and during the past few years Tony had used that open door policy many, many times. He found Gibbs' home to be… comfortable. Clearly each of his ex-wife's had put their mark on the place in one way or the other and Gibbs being Gibbs had simply left what worked. It was that kind of homeliness that attracted Tony and made him feel at ease whenever he was there. He'd never had a home like that before. The house he'd grown up in had been large and fairly empty, more show home than family home. He didn't remember much else about it, having moved out soon after his Mother had died. His Father had been through more wives than even Gibbs and with each new Step-Mom Tony had a new address, until one day school became his permanent residence. Once he hit double figures the only times he ever spent with his father, which became fewer and far between the older he got, was in the various hotels he stayed in when travelling on business. Some kids would have loved having the kind of freedom he had at such a young age, getting to hang out with older kids, girls especially, by the pool all day in some really beautiful places. But truthfully all he had ever wanted was somewhere familiar to return to. Somewhere to visit when he was feeling sad, somewhere he could remember the good times, somewhere that held evidence of his own existence.

"I thought you were going to MTAC." Tony asked suddenly, realising they'd walked right passed the security sealed doors and over to the elevator.

"Was. It can wait." Gibbs answered him, pressing the call button while pulling out his cell.

Tony remained silent and listened in while Gibbs talked to Kate.

"Body guards?" Tony questioned, eyebrows raised once Gibbs ended the call. "Boss I don't need protecting."

The elevator doors opened and Gibbs stepped inside shaking his head without saying a word.

…

Once home Tony fell asleep on the couch within minutes of sitting down. Gibbs had wanted to question him, so he could give Abby and the others more to work with in tracking down Bower, and identifying the mystery man that had approached Tony in the parking lot, but it was clear he was in no state to answer questions, let alone attempt to remember what happened to him twenty five years ago. So he made him comfortable by throwing the afghan over him and wandered into the kitchen to make coffee. Agents Barratt and Pulaski were going to be outside providing security, but Gibbs had no intention of sleeping, he was going to watch DiNozzo's six tonight.

He rung Ducky shortly after Tony started snoring and explained the situation, but he'd advised Gibbs to lay off for now, that the anxiety of the situation would have drained him and answers would have to wait. Gibbs hated to wait, but agreed to let Tony get a little peace before putting him through what would turn out to be a third degree. Abby called him next, a little after eleven and told him they'd uploaded the footage from the NCIS parking lot cameras and were running facial recognition, but no hits yet. McGee had hit a virtual wall in liberating the details of the closed file, so with no new leads Gibbs had ordered them all home with instructions to return early tomorrow.

After pouring himself another coffee Gibbs checked on Tony and confirming he was definitely just asleep not unconscious made his way down into the basement. There would be no bourbon and sanding tonight, but then those weren't the only reasons he ever went down there.

Gibbs placed his mug on the bench and pulled a small key out of his pocket, unlocking the narrow draw under his old work desk. Tugging it open Gibbs fumbled through the contents until he found the file he was looking for. Staring at the name on the front Gibbs took pause, he thought he knew pretty much all there was to know about Anthony DiNozzo jr, however it appeared even _his_ unique style of background checking didn't uncover everything.

Gibbs sat back on his stool, folder in hand and eyed the bottle of bourbon on his top shelf. He couldn't imagine how Tony was feeling about all of this, the summary of Bower's sealed file Abby had found gave nothing more than the basic facts of the case, dates, locations and outcome, but just the very thought of what may have happened to the kid in those three days he was missing made Gibbs crave a drink right the hell now.

Sitting up straight, shaking thoughts of those unknown details of the past out of his mind Gibbs concentrated on what he was missing today. Bower apparently admitted to kidnapping Tony in '78, so there was no trial, he was simply charged and sentenced. Now Bower had resurfaced, trying once again to abduct Tony and another man had made it inside the Navy Yard. The question was why?

Gibbs flicked through Tony's file and came up empty. Nothing in there, not the details on Tony's school, his many step-mothers or the casual neglect that had been inflicted on him by his family growing up suggested why Tony was taken. He guessed without the details McGee was still searching for they were pretty much at a dead end until they got Bower into interrogation.

Replacing DiNozzo's file back in the draw and locking it Gibbs grabbed his empty mug and made his way back upstairs. He an idea of what he could do to get his answers, but didn't want Tony to wake up alone, he also didn't want him to know about the files he kept. Those were for Gibbs only, and though Tony had told him odd stories here and there about his father, DiNozzo had no idea how much else he knew about his life prior to NCIS and Gibbs intended to keep it that way.

Hours later, after making yet another pot of coffee and plenty of phone calls, Gibbs returned to his sentry position. Pulling the afghan back up from where it had pooled on the floor he was about to sit down in the chair next to Tony when there was a loud knock at his front door. Gibbs leaned over to look out the window and seeing who it was that had gotten passed the agents outside he didn't bother with his gun.

"Jethro, what a pleasure," Fornell greeted him, stepping inside.

"Not always Tobias," Gibbs said casually, snatching a large thick brown envelope out of Fornell's hand before he even offered it.

"Well considering you had me out of bed at three this morning and I'm on your door step before sunrise you owe me a coffee and an explanation."

Gibbs ripped into the envelope and was about to make a scathing comment about their mutual ex-wife when he pulled out a photograph and froze. He stared at the image for nearly a minute, his heart beating wildly in his chest before snapping out of it, taking action.

"Hey, where you going?" Fornell yelled in surprise as Gibbs shoved passed him, reaching for his coat and weapon.

Photograph shoved back inside the enveloped tucked tightly under his arm Gibbs paused and turned to Fornell before stepping out onto the porch, looking him dead in the eye so he'd see just how serious his next request was.

"Stay here and look after him," Gibbs said sternly, pointing at Tony still asleep, tucked up on the couch, "do not let him out of your sight Tobias or I swear I'll kill you myself."

Leaving a bewildered Fornell behind to babysit Gibbs stormed off and over to his car. He was seething with anger as he drove towards the Navy Yard, with what he'd just seen he seriously needed to calm down before reading the rest of it. Gibbs knew he was acting irrationally, but if he was going to be forced into confronting his best agent with the contents of that brown envelope there was someone else who he needed to see it first.

…..

Abby woke with a start, the sudden silence in her lab launching her upper body off the lab table in a flash.

"How can you sleep with that on?" Kate asked with a yawn, hovering near the stereo.

Abby slid her feet to the floor and jumped off the table before leaning down into a stretch.

"I have got to stop sleeping in my lab," she replied while hanging practically upside down, her head between her knees, pigtails trailing the floor.

"What happened to your futon?" Kate queried, placing a tray of four coffees and one Caf-Pow next to her computers.

Abby smiled wickedly, picking up the Caf-Pow and pointing behind her at McGee, lying on said futon, snuggling up with Bert under the desk.

"We should take a picture." Kate grinned evilly.

"I'd rather you didn't." McGee spoke without opening his eyes and surprised both women.

"Your right, DiNozzo wouldn't let you live it down." Kate smiled as she said it, but the reminder of Tony only brought home to all of them why it was they'd slept at the Navy Yard last night instead of their own comfortable beds.

"Have you heard anything?" Abby turned hopeful eyes on Kate.

"No," Kate acknowledged quietly, handing McGee a coffee as he shuffled his way over to them, eyes still at half-mast.

"You?"

Abby, shook her head and sucked on her straw. After her call last night Abby had hung up on Gibbs first for a change and had sat back staring at her babies, willing them to give her answers.

_Setting the receiver down Abby noticed McGee stood in front of her, anxiously waiting to hear what was said._

"_He says go home, be in early tomorrow." Abby spoke with a heavy heart, picking up and putting on her firearms testing glasses._

_McGee hovered, but Abby paid him no notice, instead picking up Bert and giving him a big bear hug._

"_Are you going home?" McGee asked once the farting noise stopped._

_Abby looked over her goggles at him, she put Bert down and pulled over the box of evidence Metro had expressed over and lifted out the gun._

"_I'm going to process this. Pretty sure the only prints will be Bowers, but…" She ended her sentence with a shrug, feeling too low to talk._

"_Well I'm staying too then," McGee announced, retaking his seat and having another crack at getting into the sealed file that contained the details Gibbs so desperately wanted._

"I cracked the file." McGee announced into the thoughtful silence like it was nothing.

"What did you find?" Kate and Abby asked him immediately.

Abby stared at McGee when he averted his eyes and didn't answer. She knew he was still a little nervous, being new and everything, but something else was stopping him from sharing.

"McGee?" She encouraged, offering a disarming smile.

"I think we should wait for Gibbs." He said quietly, looking from Abby to Kate like he suddenly realised he was the wildebeest against two lioness'.

"McGee, we need to know what's in that file, same as Gibbs." Kate pointed out.

Abby watched the indecision cross McGee's face.

"That bad?" She asked not sure she wanted to know the answer.

"I don't think Tony would appreciate me sharing…" he stammered when she reached out and held his hand.

"Timmy, Kate's right. This is a case and we need to know, the more we can tell Gibbs when he gets here the better."

Abby smiled sadly, watching McGee down almost a full coffee she waited none too patiently with Kate while he brought up the file he'd read last night for them to see. After looking at the first image, Abby wished they had waited for Gibbs.

…

Gibbs laid all the photographs from the envelope out over the autopsy table one by one and stared at them, taking note of every bruise and mark that bastard Bower admitted making in his signed confession. He reached out at a head shot and touched the face of the familiar little boy who's bright green eyes stared back at him with reverence.

"I take it even you knew nothing of this." Ducky came up behind him, taking a good look at the images laid across his autopsy table, voice a low whisper in the deathly silence of the cold room.

"Not a clue Duck." Gibbs answered with a heavy heart.

He couldn't tear his gaze away from the disturbing images in front of him. In the envelope Fornell had brought was the original full FBI case-file for the abduction of Anthony DiNozzo jr, born July 8th 1972. He was taken just a week before his seventh birthday. It included a signed confession by Craig Bower, who was the only party charged and sentenced for the crime.

"And Am I right in presuming you think this has something to do with what happened yesterday?" Ducky asked quietly.

"Kate's description matches Bower Duck, and DiNozzo sure seemed to have a reaction to him." Gibbs spoke lowly.

"It was a long time ago Jethro," Ducky moved to his left side, purposefully blocking his view of the photos. "I don't need to tell you that Child abductors do not often stalk their prey into adulthood, but if that is the case here what could the perpetrators possible want with him after this long?"

"I don't know Duck," Gibbs sighed heavil y, "but I'm hoping you can find out."

Gibbs pushed off the table, leaving the photos, envelope and the rest of its contents spread out over the unused metal top. Ducky spun around, nearly chasing Gibbs out of the room.

"Jethro I'm hardly qualified to get into the mind of such a sick individual. Knowing he has hurt someone close to me makes this even more difficult."

Gibbs turned back and stared back at his friend.

"Duck I need answers. I need them now." He said in earnest.

"I'll do my best." Ducky nodded to himself, as Gibbs resolutely walked out.

Before heading back to fetch DiNozzo he stopped by Abby's lab not at all surprised to see McGee and Kate there too, all wearing exactly the same clothes as yesterday. Before he could ask Abby came running at him and gave him a hug. Gibbs would never admit it, but after staring at those photos of Tony he really appreciated the Abby love at the moment.

"Gibbs, it's awful." She whispered in his ear.

Gibbs peeled her off, his confused gaze drawn to what was displayed on her big screen. Up there for all to see were the same pictures he'd left with Ducky down in autopsy.

"McGee," Gibbs barked, pointing at the images.

McGee flinched and hit the keyboard a few times, the pictures suddenly vanishing.

"Sorry Sir, erm I mean Gibbs – Boss!" McGee tripped over his own tongue.

Gibbs gave him a lopsided grin, DiNozzo almost always called him Boss, only Gibbs when he was trying to be professional. He managed to make it sound less like a formal title and more a like a name, most notably so when he was whining or asking for something. Kate exclusively called him Gibbs, like most other people in the office, but as long as it wasn't Sir or Leroy, he really didn't care what McGee chose.

"You got into the file I take it?" Gibbs asked, neglecting to mention the one he'd got from Fornell and left with Ducky.

He stepped forward taking the two remaining coffees still in the cardboard carrier from Abby's desk.

"I managed to reroute into a proxy server which redirected me to-" McGee drummed to a halt in the face of Gibbs' glare. "Yes, yes we did."

"And?"

"We've read through all of it, and seen the photos," Kate leaned against Abby's lab table.

"Gibbs how could he not tell us?" Abby asked him annoyed.

"I don't think he knows Abby." Gibbs told her softy, not wanting her thinking Tony had been hiding secrets from her, from him.

He wished they had waited and told him about it before looking in the file, but understood they only had Tony's best interests at heart, even he didn't think before opening that envelope that what was inside would be so upsetting.

"Oh my god" Abby threw both hands over her mouth, "now we know and he doesn't, oh that's going to kill him Gibbs, we shouldn't have looked."

"Abby we had to, this isn't going to go away Tony was nearly kidnapped yesterday. The fact that he was approached in the Navy Yard suggests this is bigger than a simple wrong place wrong time scenario, someone wants something with him and we aren't going to let them take him a second time." Kate stated emphatically.

"Damn right." Gibbs agreed with her, feeling proud that despite their constant bickering Kate always had her partner's six.

"How doesn't he know?" McGee asked, breaking the re-energised mood of the room by sounding completely clueless.

"Repressed memory," Kate said before Gibbs said something impolite, he looked over at her, curious. "Yesterday, when he left after seeing Bower's photo I confronted him on the stairs, his reaction to the photo, the panic attack at the store and the hospital, they're classic signs."

"Okay, but still, shouldn't he remember having been kidnapped even if he doesn't know the details?" McGee continued.

"He was a little kid when it happened, McGee. Little kids find ways to cope when bad stuff happens to them." Abby answered him this time.

"That's why victims of child abuse sometimes don't press chargers until years later. A trigger in their adult life causes the repressed memories to resurface. To some it's like it happened to someone else and they're watching it like a movie in their head." Kate continued.

"Tony loves movies." Abby whispered softly.

"You're talking about dissociation?" McGee joined in.

Gibbs was getting lost and decided to end the speculation and put them back on task.

"Whatever happened back then, we still need to find out what these guys want with him now." Gibbs planted that seed in their minds, "I'm going to fetch DiNozzo. I want a lead on Bower when I get back!" He shouted before leaving the lab.

…

When Gibbs finally returned home and sent the agents guarding his house home it was a little after eight AM, the sun was fully up and he was already feeling the heat of the day. Walking through his front door he discovered Fornell slumped in his chair, reading one of his books while Tony continued to sleep on the sofa.

"He has no idea you were gone." Fornell said standing and stretching.

"I doubt that." Gibbs deadpanned and saw Tobias to the door.

"You'll keep me in the loop?" Fornell asked tiredly before leaving.

Gibbs knew he would've looked at the contents of the envelope before handing it to him and this was his way of offering unofficial help. Gibbs appreciated it and showed that with a succinct nod.

Shutting the outside world out, Gibbs hesitated in his hallway, listening to the quiet of the house he stepped back to his front door and taking a key from a small bowl balanced above the basement door, Gibbs did something he hadn't bothered with in years. He locked his front door.

"Boss, you're back." Tony's sleepy voice failed to surprise him as Gibbs walked through to his kitchen pouring himself yet another coffee.

"Get washed up DiNozzo," Gibbs said tiredly, the night had been eventful and while he was glad Tony had managed some rest it didn't mean he'd be in the mood to deal with his usual morning exuberance, "We're heading straight back to the office."

Gibbs waited for him run to off to the bathroom, before letting out a deep nervous breath and bracing himself against the kitchen counter top. It had been a very long time since something had affected him quite like this, as if everything he thought he knew about the world had been ripped out from under him, leaving him adrift in a sea of the unknown. Gibbs didn't know how DiNozzo was coping so well, but then he remembered Tony hadn't seen that file yet. Bile rose in his throat at the very thought of those pictures, seeing Tony at six, round faced with sad green eyes, battered and bruised within an inch of his life. He was sure no amount of rest was going to erase those images from his mind any time soon. Gibbs only hoped when they got back to the office the rest of his team had found something concrete so they could focus on catching the bastard who'd did it and Gibbs could serve some justice of his own.

…

"_I knew something wasn't right back then, just couldn't put my finger on it."_ The retired detective answered Kate down the crackly phone line.

She shuffled around her desk looking for her PDA which for some reason wasn't in her handbag.

"How?" She asked, continuing the conversation with the phone cradled on her shoulder while she searched.

Gibbs chose that moment to walk into the bullpen another two coffees in hand looking fresh, while Kate was well aware she probably looked hideous, having fallen asleep at her desk after finally getting the contact information for the lead detective on Tony's abduction back in '78. He gave her a look, so she covered the mouth piece and succinctly informed him to whom she was speaking. Kate acknowledged Gibbs' nod, but when he walked to his desk, picked up his own phone and showed it to her she got that he wanted in on this too. With a swift touch of the button Kate included Gibbs in the call to the retired detective.

"_I worked a lot of missing kid cases in Jersey, the Island and around those parts. Not all had the happy endings. But this guy, I tell him we've found his kid and he acts as if I've done him a favour by picking up his dry cleaning. Even at the hospital, there's no hugs, tears or anything. And the woman! Don't get me started on her. She was a wreck the whole time, drinking, then nowhere to be seen that day. The father said she'd gone to the spa, everything was too stressful. I tell ya, my kid goes missing, I ain't swanning off to no health spa to get over it after only two days."_

Kate glanced at Gibbs and would swear she could see his blood actually boiling from hearing this information about Tony's parents.

"You checked into it?" She asked politely, trying not to give away she had a personal connection to the case.

"_Briefly. I talked to her the next day over the phone. She said they were fine. Sounded okay."_ Kate heard his shrug over the phone. _"I had at least ten other cases piling up, the boy was with his family, a guy was being charged, nothing more to do."_

"So how did you find him?" Again asked innocently, but her goal was to discovered anything that perhaps wasn't included in the report McGee had hacked into.

The line went quiet for second before in a much more subdued voice he said, _"Had an anonymous tip."_

"Detective?"

"_Sorry miss, it was one of those cases. Never leaves you."_ The old detective audibly sighed before continuing. _"The kid was a mess, dumped in an alley wrapped in a blanket. We caught Bower in a nearby apartment, he eventually confessed."_

Out the corner of her eye Kate saw Gibbs writing on a piece of paper and then handed it to her.

"What about the ransom?" She read.

The line went silent.

"_How'd you know about that?"_ The detective asked cautiously.

She didn't know herself and looked to Gibbs for help, there was nothing about a ransom in the details McGee had uncovered.

"It's not in the report." Kate agreed on a whim, but it wasn't an answer.

"_They got it expunged."_ He said with a hint of disgust. _"Hell even the official report was sealed eventually, don't know how you got that."_

Kate got the impression he didn't care either, but refrained from comment.

"Who did and why go to that trouble?" She soldiered on getting a much bigger picture and not liking the implications one bit.

"_The father."_ Kate heard the distinctive sounds of a cigarette being lit. _"Claimed it was for his son's protection, that if word got out he'd paid a ransom then others might try."_

"You didn't believe him," Kate assumed.

"_Told you, might as well have been dropping of his dry-cleaning. Besides, what kind of 'in it for the money' kidnapper roughs up the merchandise like that? They could have just killed him outright, but they didn't. Kid was beaten, and dumped, he wasn't meant to survive. I knew it, the father knew it too, but when I tried to take the chargers further I was told by my department chief we had the guy and was to leave it be."_

"They Detective?"

"_What?"_

"You said they could've killed him."

"_Another thing that didn't sit right. Bower confessed alright, but claimed he acted alone and pardon my French Miss but that's bull shit. Bower was a stupid kid back then, no way he pulled it off by himself."_

Kate didn't think she could say anymore to that so thanked the detective for his time and let him go back to enjoying his Florida retirement. Hanging up she sat and stared at her phone for a while.

"I've tried that on DiNozzo, mind control doesn't work," she heard Gibbs say and almost laughed.

"How are you so calm?" Kate turned to him.

Gibbs gave her a level look as he took his seat, but no answer.

"I take it you have more information?" She asked, knowing without a doubt Gibbs was holding something back.

"Fornell."

"Case went to the FBI?" To say she was surprised would be an understatement this was getting bigger and bigger with every lead.

"They were involved." Gibbs confirmed, but gave nothing else away.

"Where's Tony?" She asked, knowing that Gibbs had returned with DiNozzo, but she was yet to see him.

After discovering what she had last night and just now on the phone, Kate didn't know what she was going to say to him. Ten months she'd spent with Tony constantly talking, snooping through her things and generally annoying her, and now she knew one of his biggest secrets, something so epic it changed the way she thought of him, and he had no clue about any of it.

"I left him with Abby. She's showing him the file." Kate heard the note of sadness in his voice and felt her own heart breaking at the thought of how he might react.

"And you're not with him? Is that a good idea?"

When Gibbs refused to turn his head, but his hands instantly stilled over his keyboard Kate knew she'd hit a nerve. This was clearly as difficult for Gibbs as it was going to be for Tony and the fallout was going to be worse than they could ever imagine. Her heart sank a little at that knowledge, but her resolve to solve the case and keep DiNozzo safe was still strong, she hadn't just spent the night chasing pensioners. While McGee and Abby had been doing their computer things she had being putting her own special skills to test. Gibbs' new information about the ransom only added credibility to her theory.

"Gibbs we have a problem." Kate hedged as she stood and approached his desk, hoping he'd forget her last comment.

"Just one?" He answered without the courtesy of looking up.

Kate ignored the jibe and kept talking.

"The story makes no sense."

"It's not a story." Gibbs refuted immediately.

Kate realised there was no way Gibbs was going to approach this case rationally, and that in of itself was a major problem, but first things first, she needed him to understand the logistics of the case and then maybe she could help him deal with the personal aspect.

"Actually, I think it is." Kate paused, returning to her desk to grab the print out of Bower's confession to police, focusing on how he described abducting Tony in the first place. "Bower claims he took the victim from Gantry Plaza Long Island in the middle of a summer afternoon."

"Tony." Gibbs interrupted her calmly.

"What?" Kate locked eyes with him.

"You said victim." He continued in the same level tone that was really irritating to her, "The victim," he emphasised, "was Tony."

Kate sighed and changed tactics, knowing he'd want her to overlook his current weakness on display.

"Gibbs, the point is he claims to have taken him, a child he'd never met before from a crowded public area, in full view of 100 plus witnesses without anyone noticing anything out of the ordinary." Kate paused for breath, "that's just not possible. He'd have to have been a highly skilled individual to pull it off. In profiling terms this report suggests the perpetrator would easily blend into a family environment. He'd be experienced, definitely have previous convictions against children or a history of violence against those younger than him, making him at least twenty-five when the abduction occurred." She held her hand up, an order for him to keep it shut until she'd finished her profile. "He'd be able to scan a crowd and pin point the one child who could be taken without anyone noticing."

"Well we know Mr DiNozzo wasn't the most attentive of parents, what are you saying?"

Ignoring the snapped response Kate leaned forward, hands supporting her against Gibbs' desk.

"The report is wrong."

"We know that." Gibbs groused.

Yes they did, but more than a ransom drop was missing.

"I mean the entire thing is a fabrication. In abductions like the one described here the abducted child would have to be quiet, a loner, someone separated from his peers and easily led." Kate could see she had gained Gibbs' attention, taking a quick breath she went for the zinger. "Does Tony really strike you as having been the kind of child that could be taken by a stranger against his will and without a fight?"

She could see Gibbs was thinking that over, while it was possible for people to change as they grew up, Kate doubted Tony was ever an introvert.

"There's more?"

She smiled, thought he'd never ask.

"Abby ran Bower's rap sheet. In '78 he was a petty thief, a drug addict in his late teens, not even a weapons charge. It's why he got a light sentence and early parole."

"Your point?" Gibbs said through gritted teeth.

Clearly reminding Gibbs one of the men responsible for hurting Tony all those years ago got off lightly was a bad idea, so she swiftly moved on.

"He doesn't fit the profile either." Kate stressed, slamming down a photo of Bower when he was arrested. "Despite everything else that doesn't fit, including the ransom demand, do you really think all those wealthy long Islanders' would not have noticed _him_ trolling around their children?"

"You realise what you're suggesting?" Gibbs said as he picked up his desk phone and quickly dialled.

Kate nodded, she did. Tony's father was the one who was with him that day in the park and made the initial report to the police. When Gibbs had said he wasn't the most attentive of parents Kate knew what he was referring too. Tony had shared many childhood stories with her in the last almost a year and DiNozzo sr often came out sounding like a complete ass, even if that was never Tony's intention. He had falsified his report, of that she was sure. The only question was, why? She could understand the fear that if news of a ransom got out then others might try the same, but a ransom demand would suggest Tony had been targeted by the kidnappers, most likely by someone who was close to or knew the family. Bower had no connection to the DiNozzo's according to his own statement and the evidence processed. The detective on his case clearly believed Bower was a scapegoat for a bigger team and Kate agreed. The fact that Tony's father somehow had enough pull to not only arrange for the details of the ransom to be removed from the filed case report, but also concocted a story that painted Bower as a paedophile, working alone, suggested some serious pre-planning. Why, certainly was the question they needed to answer before they could even begin to work out what had prompted Bower to resurface after all this time.

Kate waited while Gibbs ordered McGee to the bullpen, a satisfied smile on her face to see the fight back in his eyes. While she wanted to know what other information Fornell had that the police file didn't, she knew there was also another concern.

"Has Tony said anything about the other guy in the parking lot?"

"Not yet." Gibbs shook his head, concentration focused on his computer screen.

She got from his short clipped response that he'd had other things to deal with last night and swiftly moved on, mindful that they'd have to proceed at a comfortable pace. Tony had been on the verge of yet another panic attack in the stairwell yesterday, if they pushed too hard too soon, he might just break down completely and there'd be no answers for them then.

"Abby's report says Bower's latest released from prison was in 2000, was his being armed and in that convince store a-"

"Coincidence Kate?" Gibbs grinned sadly, finishing what he was doing.

"Okay, so no. But why target Tony now?" Kate paced the bullpen, thinking it out.

"Probably for the same reason he was targeted back then." Gibbs answered passionately.

He slammed his hand, palm down, hitting his desk and stood up, all in one smooth move, grabbing his gun. Kate jumped and quickly grabbed her gear too.

"Where you going boss?" McGee asked, having walked into the bullpen too late to hear what had been said.

"To talk to the one person who can tell us what the hell happened twenty-five years ago." Gibbs shouted over his shoulder as he stormed out.

"Who?" McGee called after him.

"His father," Gibbs managed to make the word sound like a curse as it bounced back to them.

"What?" McGee squeaked.

Kate felt for him and would have filled him in had she thought Gibbs would actually wait for her.

"Keep Tony here McGee, he is not to leave the building." She said instead, running out on Gibbs' heels.

McGee stood still, looking stunned in the middle of the bull pen.

"Wait," he shouted after her, "how exactly am I supposed to do that?"

…

Abby's music sent a loud thumping beat around the lab. Tony didn't mind it so much. At least it prevented them from talking.

"Abigail!" Ducky shouted over the noise walking in, "Will you please turn that infernal racket off?"

Abby grabbed her remote and turned the music down, but not off like she did for Gibbs. Tony smiled at her cheekily. So far she had been great, after showing him the case file of his apparent abduction Abby had left him alone to digest the information. She'd broke him in delicately, letting him read the detached detective's notes and hospital record before showing him the photos and letting him read Bower's detailed confession, along with his father's own statement of events. It all seemed so surreal, he remembered none of it.

On the drive back to the office that morning Gibbs had driven in his normal racing driver manner without talking. Usually Tony tried to fill the silence with as much mundane conversation as possible, but this morning Gibbs had looked like he was only just holding himself together and now Tony knew why. His boss and teammates had all seen the file.

When he first caught sight of the photos they had him chucking up in Abby's trash can. It was his face, as he remembered himself all those years ago, but he did not remember having those taken. In any other circumstances Tony thought he would be embarrassed that his colleagues had seen such intimate and disturbing pictures of him, but these circumstances were far from normal. The boy in the photo, the one Bower describes inflicting pain and suffering on for no apparent reason other than his own twisted enjoyment was him, not another victim. Him. Anthony DiNozzo jr.

Tony grabbed for the trash can again and dried heaved into it.

"Oh my," Ducky crouched beside him and Tony felt a warm hand on the back of his neck. "It's okay my boy."

Tony nodded, lifting his head and pulled up his knees pushing the ruined can to one side, but not out of reach, just in case he needed it again.

"I'm sorry, Ducky." Tony whispered, swiping at his watering eyes.

"Why whatever for?" Ducky asked sincerely.

Tony looked up and saw Ducky was still bent low next to him, a terribly uncomfortable position for someone his age no doubt. Looking over his head he could see Abby on the other side of her lab through the glass, head phones now on. He smiled, Ducky and Abby were great friends, they all were, and he really hoped he wouldn't have to leave any of them over this.

"Want something Ducky or just up for a visit?" Tony asked accepting the tissue the old M.E offered him.

"Well Gibbs didn't answer his phone, so I thought I'd come see how you were doing."

"I'm doing just fine." Tony chuckled, feeling light headed and giddy all of a sudden. "Fine and dandy, couldn't be better."

"Anthony," Ducky spoke kindly, putting one hand on his knee. "This will be difficult, but you'll get through it. You are not alone, you hear me?"

"Thanks Ducky." Tony nodded, seeing the truth in that.

"May I ask what just made you so violently ill?"

"Oh, erm, I just thinking about my name." Tony laughed again, sure he was sounding rather mad.

"You're name?"

"Bower called me junior in the store yesterday. Only my father ever called me that." Tony saw Ducky's eyes flash when he said that. "What?"

"Nothing, my boy," Tony stared at Ducky, but the M.E adverted his gaze.

"YES!" Abby's screamed, interrupting what Tony was going to ask next. "I got a match!"

"A match to what?" Tony asked, pulling himself together and walking over to her standing by her computer.

"I pulled a second print off the gun Bower used on you in the store."

"And you got a match." Ducky asserted.

"No." Abby smiled.

"Abs!" Tony snapped, very Gibbs like he realised when Abby gave him the evil eye. "Sorry."

"I got a trace on the gun, it wasn't easy, but I finally found it to be last registered to this guy."

Abby brought up a picture of a very fat old man on the screen.

"He's your match?" Tony asked.

"No. He's dead, was indicted for fraud in 1972 by the FBI, but his nephew however is very much alive and the current keeper according to the evidence logs. If you can get me a print I'll run a comparison, but his photo matches the image taken from the NCIS security cameras."

"Who is he Abs?"

"He is none other than… Henry Miller, former Long Island resident and business owner." Abby danced, bringing up the image on her screen.

Abby turned her bright smile on him, wanting recognition for a job well done, but all Tony could do was stare at the very familiar face of one Henry Miller.

"Anthony? What's wrong?" Ducky asked cautiously.

"I knew I recognised his voice." Tony whispered, "When he approached me in the parking lot I thought I knew him, but..."

"Who is he Anthony?" Ducky asked in a soothing tone.

Tony swallowed, knowing that what he said next would change everything, not just the direction of the investigation, but his whole life.

"He's a friend of my Father."

…


	3. Chapter 3

Ducky's audible gasp, echoed by Abby's, could not have been prevented.

"I have to go," Tony said quickly before running out of the room to the twin shouts of his name.

Abby turned sorrow filled eyes on him, but Ducky had no answers for her.

"Call Timothy Abigail, warn him that Tony may attempt to leave and tell him to prevent him from doing so." Ducky instructed. "I'll try Gibbs again."

"He didn't answer you either?" Abby asked, looking at Ducky worriedly over the receiver.

Before he could reply she started a conversation with McGee that left nothing to the imagination about their relationship prior to him joining the MCRT. From the noise he was making down the phone line Ducky deduced McGee wanted to know how _he _was supposed to stop DiNozzo doing anything. Ducky conceded the point, he had only ever known one agent quite as stubborn as Anthony DiNozzo, and he was currently breaking was of his own rules by being unreachable.

Abby put her phone down, while Ducky hit redial.

"No luck?" She asked.

Ducky shook his head, wherever Gibbs was, Ducky certainly hoped it was important.

…

After leaving the bullpen on his way to the airport Gibbs had called McGee for Tony's father's whereabouts. He was going to demand Morrow organise them a ride anywhere they had to go, prepared to damn well chase the man to the other side of the world if it meant getting the answers they needed. Imagine his surprise when McGee called back and reported he'd retrieved and pinged senior's cell phone, tracing him to DuPont Circle, right there in Washington DC. Gibbs was positive if Tony had known about his father being in town he would have told him straight away, even if none of this had happened.

He didn't want to think the worst for Tony's sake, already knowing his father couldn't give a crap about him was bad enough, but what were the chances Senior just happened to be in town at the very same time Tony's life was being threatened by the person who kidnapped him twenty five years ago? Unlikely, which meant they had more problems than a possible false police report. The very idea that Tony's father was somehow involved in hurting his own son sent the uneasy feeling Gibbs already had in his gut in to overdrive.

Walking into the bar, Kate on his six, they were approached immediately by the maître d'. Flashing their badges not only got them through into the restaurant, but directions to their person of interest as well. It seemed DiNozzo was a regular. Gibbs barely held in the sarcastic comment he wanted to make upon hearing that the man was well known in a local D.C restaurant, yet hadn't seen or spoken to his only son in the three years Tony had lived there.

"Mr DiNozzo," Gibbs put on his best stone face and approached the private booth in the corner of the four-star Italian. "We need to speak to you about Anthony."

DiNozzo Sr looked up at the sound of his voice and Gibbs saw recognition in his eyes that Senior quickly tried to disguise.

"And you are?"

Suspicious, Gibbs played along, taking out his badge to show him exactly who he was, Kate doing the same.

"Special Agent Gibbs, Special Agent Todd, NCIS."

"NCIS," Senior spat, like tasting a fine wine he'd already decided he didn't like. "And what can I do for you Special Agents?"

He winked at Kate in a way so reminiscent of their Tony it physically hurt to see the resemblance.

"I said we're here about your son." Gibbs worded it as more of a reminder that he had a son and enjoyed the look of shame that briefly flittered across the older man's face.

"Look I don't know what Junior has done now, but surely this can wait, I'm in the middle of a very important meeting." The man smiled and relaxed, regaining control.

Gibbs shot a brief glance at the young blonde seated opposite him.

"More important than your son's wellbeing?" Gibbs snapped back calmly, not willing to allow this sorry excuse of a parent any respite.

"Sir," Kate spoke as DiNozzo spluttered, "Tony needs your help, and we'd appreciate a couple minutes of your time."

Gibbs bit his tongue, he knew what Kate was doing and she was probably right to try. Senior was a blow hard, he knew this from his first and what he had hoped would be his last, dealing with him over a year ago. Appealing to his ego would get the information they needed and if it helped DiNozzo Gibbs was willing to give anything a try.

"I guess I can spare a minute." Senior smiled, standing he excused himself to his guest.

They followed him over to the bar where he sat down and ordered a single malt scotch. DiNozzo tipped his glass at Gibbs, indicating the bar.

"We're fine thanks," Kate said politely when Gibbs merely held his glare "We need to know what happened when Tony was six."

Kate was clearly hoping playing dumb would get Senior spilling his guts without even realising it, but Gibbs knew from one look at the man's relaxed posture he knew exactly what he was doing and wouldn't be so easily fooled. Despite knowing it was futile he gave Kate two minutes, with DiNozzo Sr dodging every single question she asked, before taking back the reins.

"Why don't you stop bullshitting and tell us what we want to know." Gibbs growled low in his throat, drawing the attention of those few lunch time drinkers around them.

Senior folded his arms, assessing him. Gibbs recognised the action and remained ridged, refusing to back down from any intimidation this DiNozzo could dish out.

"You've got the report." Senior wafted his hand and shrugged broad shoulders, "What more can I tell you?"

"Reports wrong."

"Well," the smug smile was back, "I certainly can't be held responsible for poor police work."

Senior leaned back on the stool and he might as well have put his hands behind his head, because right now he thought he was untouchable. No matter, Gibbs always did like to get them when they least expected it.

"You call us if you remember anything." Gibbs flicked a standard issue NCIS contact card across the bar and calmly walked out.

Kate followed him in a flap and as Gibbs exited the restaurant he sensed she wasn't going to hold her ire in for long.

"Gibbs we can't just leave, we need answers to help Tony!"

"You think I don't know that agent Todd?" He hissed spinning around and pulling them both to a stop once they were out of sight of the large glass double doors of the restaurant.

"We can bring him in," Kate suggested, "he was the one who lied to the police."

"Got any proof?" Gibbs asked her curtly, "other than your gut?"

"No," he saw her visibly deflate.

Gibbs paced the sidewalk angrily, ignoring the people surrounding them, eating lunch or just walking by, going about their day unaware of his dilemma. Gibbs flashed back to this morning when he'd first opened Fornell's envelope. Seeing those pictures… it had hurt him. It hurt to see the bruises covering the child's body, knowing from one look what pain he must have gone through, how scared he would have been. Gibbs imagined the screams, could almost hear the child he felt he knew so well crying, calling out for help. He realised then that was what hurt the most, knowing Tony had been scared and hurt and alone, and he hadn't been there to save him from it.

"That man in there," he pointed back toward the restaurant, where Mr DiNozzo, had likely re-joined his blonde date. "I hate him."

He _had_ been there, _he_ could have done something. He was a father, charged with the responsibility of looking after his child, but the man didn't deserve the title. Gibbs knew that before he'd met him, seeing him in the flesh, experiencing the inflated ego for himself just made him hate the man more. Feeling a sudden intense urge to hit something Gibbs ceased his pacing and took a second to breathe, it wasn't like him to lose it like this, but this case, this victim was different, so the rules were different.

"You've spoken to him before?" Kate asked, and Gibbs could see her trying to puzzle together his odd behaviour.

He didn't blame her, they were standing in the middle of the street, bright summer sunshine beating down on them and he was acting more emotional than Abby on a bad day. He didn't question Kate for thinking he'd lost his mind, he thought he probably had too.

Pulling himself together he walked up to her, speaking calmly.

"I called him once to tell him Tony was in the ICU after getting shot and you know what the bastard did ... He left a message with some hotel receptionist asking me to leave him a voicemail should 'anything unfortunate occur'." Gibbs watched Kate's jaw drop. "I want him in my interrogation, but I need something other than your gut Agent Todd."

The softening of her features upon hearing this revelation told Gibbs she understood his anger, but before Kate could respond to his earlier outburst her phone rang and she quickly answered it.

"Abby?"

"_Finally!" _Abby's scream could be heard loud and clear down the line and Gibbs gave Kate a look.

"What's wrong?" Kate turned the volume down and pressed the phone to her ear.

"_What's wrong? Everything that's what, Gibbs hasn't been answering his phone, yours has been going to voice mail-"_

"I must have lost signal or something," Kate mouthed 'check your cell' at Gibbs before going back to the conversation.

Gibbs' pulled his cell out of his pocket and noticed he had over twenty missed calls, most from either Abby or Ducky. His ringer thing must have turned off again. McGee was going to have to sort that for him when he got back.

"Abby, ABBY!" Kate shouted, drawing back Gibbs' attention, "We'll be right there." She hung up. "Abby got an I.D on the man who approached Tony in the parking lot."

"And?" Gibbs asked as they both hastily made their way back to the car, his almost breakdown completely forgotten.

"Tony recognised him as a friend of his father."

Gibbs raced the rest of the way jumping into the car, pulling out his cell as they drove off.

"Duck, where's Tony?" He shouted the minute the line connected, several horns where honking him as he zigzagged between cars, undertaking and switching lanes.

"With Timothy Jethro," Ducky's calming baritone relayed, setting him marginally at ease.

"You keep him there," Gibbs yelled, narrowly avoiding rear ending a turning Chevy, "tell him I'm on my way."

Gibbs snapped his phone shut and threw it at Kate, intending to make it back to the Navy Yard in record time.

…

Tony flew into the elevator before Ducky or Abby had a chance to stop him, he could kick himself for not remembering sooner. The accent, the familiarity with which he'd spoken to him, Tony remembered him alright. He used to be at their home all the time, Henry Miller had been one of his Dad's closest friends, and they'd been business partners if Tony remembered rightly. Miller had a daughter Tony's age, maybe a little older. She was the one who had taught him how to play doctors and nurses for the first time. Shauna. Tony chuckled upon remembering the tall blonde girl's name, wait until he told Gibbs about this.

Pressing the buttons to get the elevator moving Tony fell back against the rear wall. He imagined his escapades with Shauna Miller being immortalised in an NCIS case report and Tony started to laugh harder. It began as a bubble inside of him and continued to grow until he was in a full fit of hysterics. Too late, Tony realised when the elevator doors opened on the next floor up to reveal none other than McGee, that he was actually having a very different sort of panic attack.

"Tony?" McGee gasped upon seeing him, now sat on the floor of the elevator, his laughter reduced to mere hiccupping giggles.

McGee seemed unsure of what he should do, but Tony had to give him points for trying to act like nothing was unusual. If their situations were reversed he'd probably flounder a little too. It wasn't everyday your teammate had a breakdown in the office elevator. Though working for Gibbs, Tony guessed it wasn't necessarily un-inevitable either.

Still sat on the floor, wondering if un-inevitable was even a word, Tony thought he heard McGee mutter something about Gibbs killing him, and Tony didn't want that so he braced both hands on the floor of the car and tried hefting himself up.

"Don't worry Probie, I'm fine." He spoke, his voice sounding scratchy and raw like he'd been crying.

He hadn't had he? Tony shook his head, no, he was sure he was fine.

"You don't look fine." McGee croaked, offering him a hand when he struggled to get to his feet.

Tony took the hand and a deep breath, feeling a little calmer once he was standing steady and upright.

"Well I am," he said quietly, suddenly very aware that the bullpen was full of people and he had no idea what he looked like right now.

"We could… go to the break room… it's empty since it's such a nice day." McGee stuttered, pointing in the direction of said break room as if Tony hadn't been working here for the last two and a half years.

Tony gave McGee a grateful smile, impressed that the extremely green agent and new addition to team Gibbs was astute enough to realise his dilemma. He stepped out of the elevator and they walked together in companionable silence, arriving at the as promised deserted break room.

"I guess you know everything too." Tony said, taking a seat.

McGee looked away, as if ashamed and Tony immediately felt guilty.

"It's okay McGee. This is a case like any other." Tony assured him wearily.

"I opened the sealed filed." McGee blurted, pouring two coffees and taking the seat opposite him looking like he was about to face the firing squad.

Tony ignored the coffee, and McGee's nervousness, his interest had been peeked.

"Sealed?"

"Yeah… er, the case file was sealed, very difficult encryptions…"

McGee stopped when he caught Tony's glare. He leaned forward over the table, speaking in hushed tones despite no one being around to hear them.

"Why was it sealed?"

"Gibbs didn't tell you?" McGee whispered back.

Tony shook his head, keeping his intense gaze focused on McGee.

"Gibbs hasn't told me much, Abby showed me the file, but didn't say where it had come from."

"Oh, I… gees," McGee shook his head, sitting back, looking distressed, "Tony you better, I mean-"

"Probie!" Tony barked, slamming his hand on the table, adding another reassuring smile when the probie looked set to run.

"Sorry," McGee refocused, leaning in towards Tony again. "The file's missing some key information. Gibbs found out there was a ransom demanded-"

"My father paid a ransom?" Tony asked surprised.

If his father paid a ransom then that would explain Miller's involvement, they were joint investors so their money was tied up together, but then why would Miller be working with Bower now? Could he have been involved from the start? Tony silently puzzled it over, while McGee actively avoided answering his question. He clearly remembered Shauna being at his house just before and after his mother died and that would have been years after his abduction. Surely his father wouldn't have still been friends with the man responsible for hurting him…

"I don't know if he paid, Gibbs didn't share that much-" McGee spoke up eventually, but stopped suddenly.

Tony knew the resignation must have shown on his face. That sounded much more like his father, could explain those photos too. Didn't explain why he was still alive though…

"Probie I need you to track my father's cell," Tony pushed those thoughts away and sucked it up, not letting on to McGee that his father possibly not thinking he was worth paying for was getting to him, "I need to know where he is."

"You really should wait for Gibbs."

Tony unintentionally ignored how calm McGee was with his request, jumping up out of his seat eager to do something other than dwell on his messed up past.

"No, I think my Father's old business partner, Henry Miller, he's involved somehow and my Dad might know where we can find him. We do that, find Bower, then I can put all this behind me and forget it ever happened!"

"Tony," McGee gulped, and Tony slowly retook his seat, sensing there was more he hadn't been told. "I already tracked your father's cell, Gibbs and Kate left to question him… he's in D.C."

…

"Gibbs!" Tony ran at him before Gibbs could even step off the elevator. "You've been to see my father?" Tony all but screamed.

Gibbs glared at McGee who had followed closely behind and was now wisely hanging back. Agents in the bullpen where openly staring. Gibbs was sure scuttlebutt had gotten around that DiNozzo was at the centre of an investigation by now, but he trusted that no one on his team had shared details of the subject matter.

"DiNozzo, calm down," Gibbs said quietly, showing uncharacteristic patience.

"Really?" Tony shouted, not getting the hint, "Gibbs seriously, this is as calm as I'm going to get!"

The nervous laugh which followed up Tony's statement made Gibbs wince. He turned to Kate and tipped his head in the direction of the bull pen, indicating she was to get working on what they'd discussed during the mad drive back. Everyone else watching the scene got the message too and quickly moved on. Gibbs waited for Kate to walk away, drawing McGee with her towards to their desks, before fixing a softer than normal glare on DiNozzo.

"Tony," Gibbs stepped into his personal space, putting a steadying hand on his trembling shoulder.

DiNozzo opened his mouth to say something else, but Gibbs held his hand up, lightly pressing one finger to his lips and making a hushing sound. He knew his meaning was received by Tony's very subtle scan of the room and resigned nod.

Gibbs let him lead the way to one of the conference rooms, entering and shutting the door behind him he pulled out a seat, hoping Tony would do the same. He did eventually, but only after taking a good long look out the window, his gaze drifting across the Navy Yard towards the Potomac.

"What do you know?" Gibbs started.

"What do you know?" Tony returned, slumping down to almost disappear under the table.

Gibbs sat back and sighed, so this was how it was going to be. He didn't want to drag Tony's ass down to interrogation, in fact that's the last place he wanted them to be, but Gibbs didn't have time for Tony to be stubborn. If they didn't get a decent lead today, then they were looking at another night of protective custody and he didn't know how many sleepless nights he could take on this case.

"I went to see your father." Gibbs decided to be honest.

Tony wasn't the suspect, he was the victim, and a technically child victim at that. Admittedly he didn't know much about repressed memories or whatever it was McGee and Abby had been on about, but Gibbs didn't for one second believe DiNozzo would be able to deal with all of this in his usual deflective manner.

"What he'd say?" Tony asked him, trying to hide his hurt feelings over finding out third hand that his father was in the city.

"Tell me what you know first." Gibbs countered evenly, not letting on how miserably he'd failed.

Tony eyed him quizzically, and Gibbs suddenly felt like he should be in interrogation, as the one being interrogated. It reminded him of being sat in a Baltimore police station, a young cocky cop smiling at him while making fun of his name.

"Well Abby showed me the file." Tony spoke devoid of any emotion, and Gibbs didn't need Kate in the room to tell him that was a bad sign. "McGee told me about the ransom," off Gibbs' growl he quickly added, "don't blame Probie, think I freaked him out."

"You DiNozzo?" Gibbs grinned, which earned him a small flash of a smile from Tony.

"Henry Miller," he continued though, in his low lifeless tone, "Abby's confirmed he was the one who approached me yesterday, in the parking lot. He wants me to 'help willing this time'." Tony sat back and ran his hands over his face, "I have no idea what he meant by that, help with what exactly?"

"I'm more concerned about the 'this time' part." Gibbs kept his cool on the outside, while inside he was boiling over with rage that someone dared to think he could harm one of his agents and get away with it.

Tony averted his gaze, looking sick and Gibbs offered him a glass of water from the jug already present on the table.

"Deep breaths," he advised quietly when the silence stretched on, surprising even himself at how easy it was to treat Tony like the victim instead of an investigator.

"I'm fine." Tony choked out, finishing the water and knocking the empty glass into the middle of the table. "Gibbs you've really got to stop being nice to me…"

Tony's sentence dwindled when the effort to talk became too much and he was forced to focus on breathing instead. Gibbs waited for him to get himself under control again, sorry he'd inadvertently upset him with his concern over Miller's words. He didn't doubt seeing those pictures and reading the police file had taken its toll. They'd all needed some time to digest the facts after discovering Bower's connection to Tony. The problem was Tony hadn't seen all of it yet, only he and Ducky knew all the details contained within the file Fornell had brought him, and he'd rather it stay that way for now.

"What else did he say?" Gibbs asked, completely ignoring the 'nice' comment.

Tony cringed, gaze fixed to a spot on the table obviously mulling the question over and Gibbs worried that he was holding something back, something that would change the direction of the case and have them going somewhere neither of them would like.

"Just that he knew me as a kid, said I was always a comedian." Tony looked up at Gibbs from under hooded lids and damp eyelashes, sitting forward he clasped his hands together and rested them rigidly on the table.

Gibbs smiled wanly upon seeing the familiar look of hurt and pain reflected deep within those sad green eyes, a vulnerability that he'd hoped never to see in Tony again after leaving Baltimore.

"What else?" Gibbs asked, placing his own hands on the table next to Tony's, almost touching.

"He apologised." Tony shifted in his seat, briefly making contact with Gibbs before pulling away.

"He what?" Gibbs snapped before he could rein it in.

"Not like that," Tony shook his head, resignedly. "Said Bower wasn't meant to 'cause a fuss', those were his exact words," Tony's eyes flashed, "Gibbs, he must have been following me, I hadn't noticed anyone, but it wasn't a coincidence that he was in that store yesterday. I need to retrace my steps, talk to Kate, maybe she remembers something from when we were on our way back from Anacostia..."

Gibbs listened to Tony talk through what he needed to do to find out how Bower got to him yesterday. He smiled at his unrelenting spirit, pleased that despite all they'd learned over the last twenty-four hours Tony was still trying to be the excellent investigator Gibbs was training him to be and glad he wasn't letting the sheer weight of it all bury him.

"My father refused to help didn't he?" Tony whispered all of a sudden.

And just like that his spirit was broken and Gibbs deflated. He'd met many children, small and grown, during his time as an NCIS agent. Families torn apart, children left without parents and vice versa. No one deserved to have their family taken away, he knew that pain deeply, yet there was a father out there who had a living breathing child, a son who clearly needed his guidance and love, who he simply couldn't care less about. It was a cruel cosmic joke that men like DiNozzo Sr got to throw away their gift when he'd had his taken from him.

Gibbs made great effort to push his personal feelings towards DiNozzo's father aside and held Tony's gaze despite wanting nothing more than to leave the room and kick the living shit out of someone, preferably Bower, Miller or Senior. Granted he had no idea how any of these men fit into whatever scheme was being hatched at Tony's expense, but he knew in his gut all three were bad news and fully intended to let neither one get within feet of his agent for as long as he was around to prevent them.

"You remember what I told you yesterday DiNozzo?" Gibbs waited for Tony's nod before continuing, "Well you know I always mean what I say. I won't let anyone hurt you."

Tony's lips upturned slightly and Gibbs could see his embarrassment by the pink hue on his cheeks. They didn't often do this deep kind of talking. From the very beginning, their whole relationship was based on actions not words. Gibbs never actually offered DiNozzo a job at NCIS. He'd invited him to the Navy Yard under the guise of finding out what Tony had decided to do about his dirty partner. He gave him a headslap when Tony had suggested quitting law enforcement for good and left him outside the personnel office. Hours later Gibbs had returned from a coffee run, after avoiding yet another call from his soon to be ex-wife to find DiNozzo sat at his desk, cheshire cat grin spread ear to ear across his face.

"_Hey Agent Gibbs," DiNozzo leaned back in Gibbs' seat, hands held protectively over a piece of paper lying face down on his desk. "You go to Baltimore for your coffee?"_

_Gibbs strolled up slowly, eyeing Tony speculatively. They stared at each other, DiNozzo looking wide eyed and innocent, Gibbs with his usually suspicious narrowed gaze in place. _

"_You're still here?" _

"_I am." Tony mimicked his minimalist tone, it caused a minor crack in his stone face, but Gibbs quickly reined in the grin before it could start. "Just had one last thing to do," he quickly stood and pulled on the leather jacket which had been haplessly strung over the divide and walked away with a wave. "See you Monday, Boss!"_

_Gibbs watched him go, letting the grin out as he reached for the piece of paper left behind on his desk. As hoped it was a completed NCIS application form, with a sticky note attached and in what Gibbs knew to be DiNozzo's untidy scrawl it read, 'if you think you can handle me' with an arrow pointing to the part of the form asking for details of the Supervisory Agent. It was already filled in with his name and badge number; all it required was his signature. Shaking his head Gibbs put down his coffee, threw his once again ringing cell phone into the trash bin and reached for a pen._

Now here they were, facing probably their biggest crisis since meeting on the streets of Baltimore three years ago. Dealing with it was going to require more than a headslap, there could be no ambiguity over Gibbs' intentions when it came to solving this case.

"He was a friend of my fathers," Tony's voice sounded distant and Gibbs assumed they were talking about Miller again, "Business partner. He had a daughter, Shauna. I remember her being at my house… we…"

He trailed off and if Gibbs didn't know better he'd swear Tony was all out blushing now.

"I do not want to know if she was your first DiNozzo." He quipped, lifting the mood slightly.

"Nothing like that boss," Tony assured him with a small amused smile, "that I would remember."

The light-hearted joke only served to remind both Gibbs and Tony that this gap in his memory was going to be a major problem if they couldn't track down Miller or Bower soon.

"He tell you why he's in D.C?"

Like a flicked switch Tony was back on his father again, obviously unable to let it go or understand why the man was so completely uninterested in him. Gibbs didn't understand it either.

"Nope" Gibbs tried to hide his own theory about why he was in town.

Tony dropped eye contact.

"You think he was involved." Tony's submissive sigh echoed around the room.

Now it was Gibbs' turn to look away and sigh.

"You have reason to think he wasn't?"

Tony shrugged and didn't answer. Gibbs knew he must find it as suspicious as he did that Senior was in town while all this was happening, but he didn't want to go into Kate's theory on the false report or the inconsistencies between the police and FBI records now, so settled for simply not denying what Tony had already worked out for himself.

"Tony, I know this is hard,-"

"Do you?" Tony snapped, but Gibbs' glare had him instantly repentant, "Sorry, I'm… sorry."

"It's okay."

"It isn't though." Tony shook his head, surprising Gibbs with the forcefulness of his answer. "I was kidnapped and didn't know it, my father and his best friend were probably involved… You're being really nice! I don't, I don't know how to deal with that, with any of it! I mean come on!" Tony stood suddenly, sending his chair flying backwards, "how does anyone deal with something so incredibly un-freaking believable!"

Gibbs sat back, resting his hands in his lap while he listened to Tony shout and vent his frustrations. Trying to superimpose the DiNozzo he knew with the vulnerable one before him, Gibbs watched the fight drain out of him as he pace up and down the conference room, breathing heavily, until Tony fell back into his seat, looking crumpled and exhausted.

"Gibbs I don't know what they want from me." Tony's voice was small, a far cry from the playful confidence he normally exuded on a daily basis.

Once he was sure Tony had finished with his outburst Gibbs moved to stand in front of him. Bending down and clasping still trembling shoulders with both hands, he whispered,

"That's what I intend to find out."

…..

Abby and McGee continued to watch the two agents together in the conference room, over the security cameras from her lab, taking in every word.

"You really think we should be doing this Abby?" McGee asked for the hundredth time after helping her hack the NCIS security camera system.

He was supposed to be finding Henry Miller. When Tony had confronted Gibbs at the elevator Kate had brought him up to speed on their meeting with DiNozzo's father, and he'd filled her in on what Abby had found. Kate told him Gibbs wanted all they could find on DiNozzo Sr and Miller and he wanted it yesterday, so they were to get working. After quickly discovering Miller hadn't been heard of in the US since the early eighties McGee set up several sniffer programmes on his computer and came down to Abby's lab to see if he could use her computer to run a trace on the Interpol database off a hunch. Only he didn't even get near to doing that because Abby jumped him the minute he walked in, asking about Gibbs, Tony and the whole sordid affair involving Tony's father. McGee thought he'd been doing the right thing by telling her he'd seen Gibbs take Tony up to the conference room, but he was starting to realise Abby was a lot more manipulative than he gave her credit for.

"Timmy, if we are going to help we need to know everything." Abby stressed, "Gibbs is too busy dealing with all this to come tell us personally so it's down to us to find things out for ourselves."

"Does that include snooping into private conversations?" Ducky's smooth English accent caught Abby and McGee off guard.

McGee floundered, why had he let her talk him into it?

"Ducky, I'm sorry, we shouldn't have-"

"Do calm down Timothy, I won't tell anyone if you don't." Ducky calmly slid into the room, coming to stand next to Abby, getting a look at the video feed for himself. "Normally I wouldn't agree but in this instance I believe snooping is the only way to help our friend out of his personal hell."

"Ducky, he's so sad." Abby said, offering Ducky an English biscuit from a little red tin off her desk.

"Well yes, he may well be." Ducky took a biscuit giving Abby a quizzical look.

"The sectary pool heard Tony was in trouble again," she explained with a shrug.

"Okay," Ducky continued, getting back onto the subject at hand. "As I was saying, Tony has a right to be a little of kilter."

"A little? Ducky he nearly lost it in the elevator earlier-" McGee began, but decided Tony might not appreciate him blabbing those details all over NCIS so cut himself off before he said too much.

"Well as I told him earlier, he has us to look out for him." Ducky nodded at the screen, "in fact I believe that is what Gibbs is trying to show Anthony right now."

McGee turned collectively with Abby. The conference room camera looked down on Gibbs and Tony from the ceiling so the view wasn't the best, but they could see the pair were no longer sat on opposite sides of the table. Gibbs was now bent down, his arms wrapped around Tony, the early afternoon sun shining brightly into the room.

Abby turned the volume off on her speakers and McGee nodded his agreement, even though no one was actually speaking at this point. Trying not to feel too much like a voyeur Tim was trying to focus his attention anywhere but at the monitor when he felt an arm wrap around his waist and Abby lay her head down on his shoulder. Feeling the need to reciprocate McGee wrapped an arm around Abby and briefly patted Ducky on the shoulder. This was a very strange group of people he'd gotten himself mixed up in, but damn if he didn't already feel attached to them all, including DiNozzo.

…

"Where's Tony?" Kate questioned upon seeing Gibbs, but not his expected shadow.

"Conference room, he'll be down in a minute." Gibbs sank into his chair and pulled up his keyboard.

"I have an address on Miller in Long island." Kate announced, but before Gibbs could say anything she delivered the bad news, "Its empty, got left to his ex-wife in the divorce, never sold it, never returned."

"Where's the ex-wife now?"

Kate swivelled in her seat to face him without moving from behind her desk.

"Re-married and moved to Vegas in '81, took their daughter Shauna with her, she got full custody no visitations rights. It was uncontested."

Gibbs typed in his password and waited for his computer to power up.

"Let me guess, that was around the same time DiNozzo's mother died." He drawled.

Kate blinked, not having made that connection.

"About the same time yes," which was only a couple of years after his kidnapping, she noted "Gibbs?"

"We should get a team up there anyway." Gibbs ignored her unasked question.

Kate deflated, sensing he'd share no more on what he was currently thinking.

"Already cleared it with the director, Balboa and two volunteers are on route." Off his curious look she explained, "I thought you'd want this to stay in house."

Gibbs nodded, indicating she'd thought right.

"Nothing on Bower?"

"Not yet, BOLO's out on both Miller and Bower. I've left a message with Elaine Cooper, the former Mrs Miller, to call us. It's a stretch, but she was his wife and might know something about where her ex went and what he could be doing in D.C."

"Or could have been involved and knew what her husband was capable of." Gibbs stood, opened his desk draw, removed his weapon and slammed it shut again.

"That too," Kate conceded overwhelm by how little they did actually know, "I hate to say it Gibbs, but we may have to wait for them to come to us."

"That would mean them getting within feet of DiNozzo." He gave her a level look.

Kate grimaced.

"Yeah" She quickly looked away.

"Over my dead body!" Gibbs shouted, reining it in as soon as he saw Tony walking down the stairs.

"I miss something?" He asked leaning against his desk, looking too cool, calm and collected for someone going through an emotional crisis.

Kate quickly turned her attention back to her computer.

"Coffee" Gibbs growled, walking out of the bullpen, "Kate, sit on DiNozzo 'till I'm back."

Tony stared at Kate with a teasing smile.

"I don't think he meant that literally." She said once Gibbs was safely out of the room.

"Wanna give it a go anyway? If I get kidnapped again you might not get another chance." Tony waggled his eyebrows at her.

She couldn't believe him, emotionally drained, on the verge of a breakdown she was sure by the look of him and he was still making a pass at her.

"DiNozzo, I should wash your mouth out with soap." Kate replied, getting back to doing something useful, like finding Bower.

"That what the nuns did in that Catholic school of yours?" Tony sidled up to her desk and parked his butt on the end, not caring that he was messing up her filing system.

Kate huffed and pushed her chair back to stand up. Up close she could see the puffy redness of his eyes, like he'd recently been crying, but chose not to say anything. If Tony was trying his hardest to act normal then she felt it was best to play along, like before in the stairwell acknowledging any perceived weakness now would do more harm than good. Tony was gifted undercover when he had his head on straight, but the profiler in her could read him like a book and right now he was screaming for help so loud Kate was at a loss of what she could truly do for him.

"Stay here, I've got to do something and I'll be right back."

"Ladies room?" He guessed instantly, which never failed to annoy her, "Want me to come with you?" Tony chased after her, "Gibbs did say you weren't to leave. What would he say if he came back and found me sat here all alone?"

Kate spun on her heels and got up into his personal space, forcing him to stumble backwards.

"You're right Tony," She smiled sweetly, walking him all the way back over to his desk.

Tony matched her smile with a rather nervous one of his own and before he could back away Kate secured him in an arm lock, grabbed her hand cuffs and clicked one around his wrist, securing the other to Tony's desk leg.

"Kate?" He cried out, suddenly not so cocky.

"What? Now you can't wander off and no one can take you." She pointed out innocently, strutting away with a pleased smile on her face.

Kate only felt slightly guilty when she took a sneaky look back to see Tony slump into his chair. Despite how it might seem to others, it felt good to get back to their usual teasing banter. Although she had to wonder if she truly had won that round, considering Tony could have easily escaped her, but Kate wasn't going to think on it too much. Instead she ran to the ladies room wanting to get back before Gibbs returned, not relishing the idea of explaining why she had felt the need to chain DiNozzo to his own desk.

…

Gibbs took his coffees from the vender, leaving a desirable tip. The sun wasn't setting, but the day was getting away from them all the same and he'd been pushed to reaching out for additional help.

"Didn't think it would be long before I heard from you," Fornell came up on his side, not daring to presume one of the coffee's was for him.

"Henry Miller," Gibbs dropped the name, waiting to see what surfaced with it as they walked.

"I looked into him. Small time embezzler, money launderer, seemed to run in the family. FBI's not heard anything of him in recent years."

Gibbs nodded, tallied with the fraud charges Abby had found against the uncle.

"Any connection to DiNozzo Sr?" Gibbs asked and immediately felt anger at Fornell's guilty expression.

"Your boy's Father has also spent some time on our radar."

"And you didn't think to tell me sooner?" Gibbs pulled them to a halt, getting that this wasn't new information.

"Need to know Gibbs," he stressed, "nothing I have on DiNozzo Sr pertains to his kid or recent events."

"Oh and you know that for sure?"

"I know enough, I'm putting my neck on the line just telling you this much. You think I have clearance to be here?" Fornell paused, looking around before resuming. "I wasn't going to tell you about his father unless it was necessary."

"You think it's necessary now?"

"I read the file Jethro," Fornell paused, eyeing him with worry, "I know what he means to you. Hell I already took your ex-wife, wasn't going to take the kid too, figured I owed you that much."

"You owe me more than that Tobias," was Gibbs' roundabout way of accepting Fornell's apology.

"What then?" Fornell was losing patience with him.

This time Gibbs looked around, ensuring no one was nearby before he continued to walk.

"I want everything you have on DiNozzo Sr, Miller and an associate of his, Craig Bower."

"Your boy know you're investigating his father?" Gibbs just glared at him and Fornell raised his hands in defeat. "Fine, I'll see what I can do."

Gibbs nodded and handed Fornell one coffee before walking away.

…

"McGee, have you seen my PDA?" Kate asked feeling through her bag for what felt like the hundredth time.

The day was moving fast, too fast. Elaine Copper hadn't called back. McGee had been typing madly at his keyboard since coming back from Abby's lab with no more information than he'd left with and she'd done nothing more than pull up some dirt on Senior, that though enlightening sure didn't help much in finding either suspect. Tony had left a few minutes ago to get a chocolate bar from the vending machines after Ducky came by and declared he looked 'peaky'. Kate took that as a British term for extremely pale since Tony had seemed set to face-plant his desk any minute. After a brief hushed conversation with him Ducky spoke up in a normal volume declaring that he required some sugar if he insisted on continuing to work. Up until then Tony had been doing something on his computer since she'd released him from his desk, but when asked he'd evaded their questions. If he wasn't back in a minute she was going to send McGee to drag him back.

"Did you have it when you left for work?"

"Huh?" Kate looked over at McGee.

"Your PDA."

"Oh. Right. No." Kate thought she must look and sound pretty dumb, but her lack of concentration could easily be explained by a sever lack of sleep.

Damn DiNozzo.

"When did you last have it?" McGee got up and helped her search her desk again.

"Yesterday, I think." Kate paused, she'd looked for it in the afternoon and that had been the first time she realised it was missing. "Gibbs sent us to Anacostia."

"You left it there?" McGee cringed.

"That thing has my life on it, I wouldn't have just put it down, I'm not DiNozzo."

"Tony finds things, he doesn't lose them."

"Is that a compliment Probie?" Tony jumped out from behind the divide, scaring her and though he looked much better Kate wished she'd left him chained to his desk.

McGee stammered, but before he could form a response Gibbs came around the corner behind Tony.

"Leave McGee alone DiNozzo, he's busy." Gibbs ordered, slapping Tony's head without looking at any of them and sitting behind his desk.

"Sorry Boss," Tony said naturally, even though this time he hadn't actually been doing anything wrong.

"Sorry Boss," McGee also apologised, getting the hint that he should be working not talking.

Kate sat stunned and then smiled. It seemed whatever was going on in the foreground they all seemed to be coping just fine. The fact that Tony was acting semi-normal pleased her, Gibbs smacking him was sort of normal too and if that last smack was less about punishment and more about making Tony feel better, well she wasn't going to examine the merits of a healthy relationship today. If it worked for them and she was content not to judge.

Despite hating to be the one to break the good mood of the room Kate thought she should bring Gibbs up to speed on her searches. Hesitantly standing up and approaching his desk she was about to open her mouth when Gibbs stood up as well and walked over to the elevator. Kate stayed still, puzzled for a mere minute before buying a clue and following him. Once in the elevator, doors shut and in motion, Gibbs pulled it to a stop.

"Gibbs is this really necessary?" When she got nothing but a glare in return Kate let it go. "SO I got a friend to do some digging. Turns out DiNozzo Sr is into anything and everything to make a quick buck. A regular finger in every pie business man, but not a great one, seems he spends all if not more than he makes on an extravagant lifestyle, though the surprising truth is his main source of income isn't from his less than wise investments…"

Kate looked at Gibbs, expecting intrigue, but received complacence.

"Go on."

"His wife's Gibbs, Tony's Dad has been married at least twice as many times as you," Kate joked, but noticed he didn't see the funny side and swiftly moved on. "Anyway, they are all either from money or divorced with money. Since 1981 Mr DiNozzo has a had a new wife and new income source on average every three to four years, all the marriages have ended in divorce, some with hefty settlements. He sold the home he shared with his second wife, Tony's mother, in 1982 and since then he always moved into the wife of the moments existing address."

Gibbs nodded, but also looked bored. She stopped and stared at him.

"You know all this already." Gibbs' face remained impassive but Kate wasn't letting this go. "Gibbs why did you ask me for this if you knew it?"

"Kate," he answered, "Let's pretend I heard about the wife's, house moves and those other things from you. What about-"

"Henry Miller was a friend and investment partner of DiNozzo Sr, they go way back." Kate snapped, making it clear she wasn't just going to let this drop. "McGee's found financial records of several businesses they set up together from as early as 1969."

"Until…"

"Until 1981, Miller left Long Island, closed down all his assets and moved to Europe. Gibbs' what's this about?" Kate asked him straight. "And I don't mean about Miller being involved somehow."

"FBI had eyes on Senior and Miller a while back." Gibbs side stepped her question again, which she wasn't happy about, but at least he was sharing some of what he knew.

Kate mulled over the new information and put it together with what she had dug up.

"I'm guessing fraud, money laundering that sort of thing," off Gibbs' slight nod she asked, "does Tony know?"

"Nope"

And he wasn't going to tell him obviously. There was only one reason why Gibbs would be keeping this information from Tony.

"You think the kidnapping was an inside job," looking at Gibbs stone face she realised it went beyond that, "wait, you think his Dad actually did this to him?"

Gibbs shrugged, so casual with the idea that Tony's father could have allowed him to be hurt, or worse, actually hurt him like that it left her speechless.

"You said he faked the report."

"I meant that he was involved in covering it up," Kate gasped, "that he knew the kidnappers and didn't want the police involved for some reason, not that he actually took part!"

"I didn't say that." Gibbs said coolly.

"But you're thinking it." Kate placed both hands on her hips, making it clear he was frustrating her.

"What I'm thinking is we need to bring Senior in and get him to tell us the truth."

"Show me what you got from Fornell." Kate relaxed her stance and Gibbs continued to glare at her. "Gibbs I get why we are doing this in the elevator instead of the bullpen, you want to protect Tony, but if we're going to work this case as a team I need to know what you know."

Kate waited as she watched Gibbs think it over. Without warning he released the elevator and together they went down to see Ducky.

…

"What you got for me Ducky?" Gibbs asked strolling into to autopsy, Kate on his heels.

Ducky looked over at Kate, giving her a brief smile and exchanging a look with Jethro to ensure it was alright to talk in front of her.

"I've looked over what you gave me Jethro, and I've had a brief conversation with Anthony."

As promised he didn't let on that he, Abby and McGee had seen some of what had happened in the conference room earlier.

"When, what he'd say?" Gibbs actually sounded panicked.

Ducky stepped back and Kate was looking at him with surprise as well.

"Well earlier while you were interviewing Mr DiNozzo and not a lot, but the little he did divulge concerned me."

"Ducky, did he say anything about his father?" Kate interrupted.

"Funny you should ask." Ducky paused, "He said the man in the store," Ducky looked to Gibbs.

"Bower."

"Yes, him. Tony said he called him Junior, a name only his father used."

"Okay."

"Well that would indicate a certain familiarity, not only with Tony but with his father."

"We already have suspicions his father's involved somehow." Gibbs confirmed, "What have you learnt about Bower?" He nodded at the FBI file Ducky now held in his hand.

"That he is one very troubling individual," Ducky walked over to his desk and picked up the envelope Gibbs had dropped off earlier. "The details contained in his confession, he describes exactly what happened to poor Anthony and it's collaborated by the doctor who documented his injuries. Bower was definitely present when the abuse was inflicted."

"But?" Gibbs asked, following Ducky when he walked over to the furthest autopsy table.

"But I find it highly unlikely he performed any of the acts, or if he did took no enjoyment from it."

Ducky removed the photos from the file along with the confession and placed them one by one over the table much like Gibbs had done earlier that morning.

"Was he supposed to Duck?" Gibbs asked him, coming up on his right.

Ducky could see Jethro wasn't comfortable viewing Tony's pictures and Kate went so far as to stand on the opposite side to avoid looking down at them.

"I'm afraid so." He nodded, "I haven't quite finished going over these, as you can imagine it hasn't been easy, but I've noticed that these injuries though painful when inflicted would have been superficial, leaving minimal if any scarring."

"That's a good thing?"

"It's not good or bad. Just interesting. According to the report Bower acted alone, taking Anthony on a whim when the opportunity presented itself. Jethro, they paint him as a sadist, someone who wanted to cause the most amount of pain and enjoyed doing it." Ducky swallowed, pointing at a picture of Tony's hands. "You see this bruise? It could have been caused by someone bending his fingers back," Ducky demonstrated by bending the fingers on his hand, "only none were broken."

Gibbs looked at him blankly and Ducky couldn't work out another way to put it.

"A sadist wouldn't have stopped. He'd have broken his fingers, Gibbs." Kate added sadly.

"I'm betting he also wouldn't have been too concerned about a ransom either." Gibbs walked away from the table, the photos, them.

Ducky felt the same way, he'd spent the better part of the day studying these images and whereas he'd seen Anthony's body many times during his time at NCIS due to injury or routine medicals and knew there was not a mark on him, it didn't prevent him from seeing the adult in the child and vice versa.

"Unlikely," Ducky agreed quietly, he gave Jethro a minute and looked to Kate, "correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't a perpetrator like the one portrayed in this confession be much more likely to kill the victim once he was done with them?"

"You should be a profiler Ducky," Kate summoned a smile from somewhere.

"You flatter me my dear, but I would never seek to tread on your toes."

"Detective Haynes said they found Tony in an alley wrapped in a blanket, after an anonymous tip." Gibbs walked back over, sounding strong once again.

"Signifies remorse," Kate concurred.

Ducky could tell Gibbs was getting impatient with them, but these things had to be worked through carefully to avoid jumping to conclusions.

"A sadist wouldn't have remorse for his victim," Ducky continued, "So why did Bower?" He had read Bowers confession. It suggested detachment and held little detail, like he didn't care one way or the other. "He was simply doing exactly as he was told, for some reason going to jail didn't bother him."

"Because he knew someone would get him out." Gibbs grunted, "What are the chances Bower willingly took the blame for a cover up?"

"They were serious charges and a fairly lengthy sentence for his age. You'd owe someone pretty big after that." Kate followed Gibbs train of thought.

"Or _he_ owed someone big."

Ducky could see the wheels turning in Gibbs' head.

"Jethro, what are you thinking?"

"Tony said Miller wants him to _help willing this time_." Gibbs glared at them.

"Last time he was six, what could they possibly have wanted his help with?" Kate asked exactly what Ducky was thinking. "Wait, if Miller and DiNozzo Sr were both under FBI surveillance…. what if they got involved with the wrong people?"

"Why do I get the feeling if he were here Anthony would be quoting 'The Godfather'?" Ducky asked dryly.

"Kidnapping and a ransom. The MO fits. Would explain why DiNozzo Sr lied in his report."

"Doesn't explain why he went to the police." Gibbs picked up the envelope and pulled out DiNozzo Sr's missing persons report.

"Maybe he had no choice," Kate suggested.

Ducky watched intently as Gibbs flicked through the file.

"If they were using him to get to his Dad, what if it's the same this time?" Gibbs whispered as if to himself.

Ducky contemplated the question. If Senior was the key to Anthony's assailant's reappearance then Ducky knew no matter how hard Jethro tried to protect the lad, he was going to come to harm one way or another. Either the kidnappers got what they wanted from Tony or they got it from his father, whichever way it went poor Anthony would be caught in the middle.

Silence ruled the room for several minutes only to be broken by Gibbs' ringing cell phone.

"Get Senior in here," he said to Kate after checking the caller I.D.

"But Gibbs,"

"I don't care how, just do it!" Gibbs ordered storming out of autopsy.

As soon as Gibbs was gone Ducky turned to Kate with a further concern.

"Caitlyn, I'm afraid I've thought of something else, about the blanket Tony was found in..."

Kate turned to look at him and by her resigned expression Ducky knew he needn't explain anymore.

"You think it was someone close to Tony."

Ducky nodded sadly, confirming that was exactly what he was thinking. The act of covering the body suggested whoever left him in that alley cared about him. Not enough to take him to a hospital, but enough to feel sorry for what had happened, was maybe even responsible for the anonymous call to the police. Whether it was Bower after all or Tony's father, they just wouldn't know until Gibbs got them into interrogation. Ducky watched Kate look back over her shoulder, out the doors Jethro had just left through.

"Yeah, Ducky, I'm afraid of that too."

…

"What's going on?" Kate asked, meeting Gibbs back in the bullpen.

Tony was still working at his desk, head bent down low scribbling away on his notepad this time. She tried covertly leaning over to get a look at what he was scrawling, but as if he sensed her closing in on him he immediately stopped what he was doing, opened his desk draw and dumped the notepad inside, slamming it shut.

"We got the son of a bitch." Gibbs announced with venom, slamming shut his own desk draw.

McGee was hovering between the elevators and entrance to the bullpen, coat on, bag in hand and full of nervous energy.

"D.C police have Bower at a motel off the I-95 near Rose Hill, Virginia." He explained when she gave him a perplexing look.

Springing immediately into action Kate grabbed her own bag and as she was holstering her weapon Kate looked over at Tony to see him doing the exact same thing.

"Where'd you think you're going, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked standing in front of Tony's desk.

"Going with you," Tony's response hid no doubt that he knew he shouldn't be going.

Kate watched, waiting for Gibbs to tell him how stupid an idea it was, and mentally prepared her own response with which to back the decision up, but was caught off guard by Gibbs' clipped nod of agreement. Without a second wasted Tony pushed passed McGee, making him the first to call for the elevator. Gibbs tried to follow after him, but Kate stepped out and blocked his path.

"What the hell are you thinking?"

Gibbs glared at her, lips pressed tight, no emotion showing on his face whatsoever. Reading his message loud and clear Kate reluctantly stepped to the side, letting Gibbs pass with the minimum amount of fuss. McGee looked at her, jaw almost touching the floor.

"This is a terrible idea." She said shaking her head while pushing McGee, stunned looked still in place, to join Tony and Gibbs in the elevator.

Whether Tony was at risk by attending the crime or not didn't matter now, Gibbs had made his decision, they'd just have to go with it and hope like hell nothing went wrong.

…

Arriving at the scene in the sedan Gibbs spotted the police cars parked outside a taped off motel room. Kate pulled the van up seconds later and while his team filed out Gibbs approached the one man in plain clothes leaning leisurely against the wall outside.

"You Gibbs?" The man, who had to be a detective, asked as he approached.

Gibbs nodded.

"Where's Bower?" He wasn't the mood for pleasantries, which was good because apparently the detective wasn't going to offer any.

"Your man's in here," The detective lifted the crime scene tape covering the door and walked inside.

"You questioned him already?" Gibbs asked following him.

"Questioned?" He turned around looking puzzled, "I think there's been a misunderstanding…"

"I thought you caught him." Kate asked only just catching the detective's comment as she ducked under the tape and came up on Gibbs' left with Tony and McGee following close behind.

"Oh he was caught alright," the detective pointed at the motels small bathroom, "just not by us, someone else caught up to him first."

Gibbs shouldered passed the detective who had yet to identify himself as such and stepped into the bathroom to discover Bower propped up on the toilet seat, blood pooling on the white linoleum floor beneath his feet.

"Shot" The detective came up behind him and slumped against the door frame, hands in pockets. "Two to the chest and one to the head, close range."

Gibbs pulled off his hat and ran one hand wearily over his face. Finding Bower was their best lead, but dead he was useless to them, and he betted whoever left him there knew that.

Stepping out into the main room Gibbs beckoned Tony forward.

"McGee, fetch the equipment from the truck, we've got a scene to process." With a hand to his shoulder Gibbs walked Tony into the bathroom.

It was too small for both of them, so Gibbs hung back.

"You're taking it I assume?" The nameless detective asked casually.

Gibbs gave him a cursory once over before he looked back to Tony who nodded, confirming it was indeed the same guy from the convenience store yesterday.

"Yep. We're taking it." He grabbed Tony's arm and pulled him out, "DiNozzo, go outside, call Ducky."

Gibbs tracked him all the way to the door, accidently catching and mirroring Kate's concerned gaze as he left. Shaking it off Gibbs forced a more neutral expression and quizzed the detective on how exactly Bower was discovered.

"We got a call from the owner around 6.15 who reported gunshots," he answered. "A patrol car responded and found this."

"That was less than an hour ago, how'd you know to call us so soon?" Kate asked.

"Wasn't hard, the guy's wallet was left out on the side over there," the detective pointed to the bedside table, where lay a wallet opened to a driver's licence, "identified him as the guy on your BOLO. After that didn't touch a thing, heard what you guys are like."

Gibbs eyed the detective speculatively, something about the way he held himself, and his little chuckle after stating he hadn't touched the crime scene…

"His wallet was left out?" Kate pulled on a glove before picking it up.

"Yeah, clear as day," the detective nodded, "almost think he wanted you to find him."

Hearing Kate's question and the subsequent answer Gibbs immediately ran out of the room nearly bowling the detective over. He stood on the top of a flight of concrete steps that led into the motel car park frantically scanning the scene. The general area was secluded, the motel being surrounded by woodland on both sides of the interstate. LEO's had cordoned off the immediate area, but traffic still passed by, a few gawkers slowing down to see what was happening. He could see the sedan left exactly where he'd parked, with the van just behind it, but no sign of DiNozzo.

"McGee!" Kate shouted, flying passed Gibbs down the stairs and over to where McGee was struggling to carry the crime scene equipment bags.

"I'm coming!" McGee stumbled and dropped one of the bags.

"Where's Tony?" He heard her ask.

"He was just over there, told me to bring all this inside. What's going on?" McGee looked from Kate to Gibbs, still stood on the top step.

Trying not to show his concern Gibbs looked around again turning full circle, but still couldn't see any sign of DiNozzo.

"Tony!" Kate resorted to shouting, moving through the small crowd of onlookers and law enforcement personnel.

Not seeing any other option Gibbs joined her, searching in the opposite direction, calling out 'DiNozzo' in-between every shout of 'Tony' from Kate.

McGee stared at them as if they'd lost their minds. If Ducky was there Gibbs was sure he'd liken them to two panicked parents who'd lost their toddler in a department store, but right now he didn't care what he looked like, they'd walked into a trap and he could kick himself for realising too late that Bower hadn't been the threat, he'd been the bait all along.

….

A/N: What a monster. Hope everyone is okay with the long chapters, I'm going for a slightly different pace that befits the story compared to Impetus. All mistakes are mine and I did it all on purpose ;P

THANKS EVERYONE for your reviews, I know a lot of people have followed and favourited already, it makes me smile every time I see my emails. Hope this chapter cures 'Guest's' withdrawal for now lol;) ttfn.


	4. Chapter 4

McGee looked from Gibbs to Kate, both still shouting 'Tony' over and over again as they searched the meagre crowd of local police officers, motel guests and the odd employee.

"Kate?" McGee shouted after her, juggling the remaining bags.

Seeing she wasn't going to stop and explain what was going on he gave up on holding onto them. Dropping all three to the floor in a heap he gave chase, running up the small grassy incline, which bordered the main slip road leading back onto the interstate, coming to a skidding halt by Kate's side.

"Bower was killed to get us to the crime scene McGee, it was a trap." Kate spoke swiftly without taking her eyes off the road ahead, scanning the odd car as it drove on by.

"And you think they have Tony?" He didn't mean to sound so incredulous, but it was kind of hard to believe someone, especially DiNozzo, could be kidnapped from right under their noses and at a crime scene no less.

"Well do you see him anywhere?" Kate snapped, turning to pin him with her very own imitation of the Gibbs glare.

McGee sensed any reply he made would only be met with disdain so he opted to keep his mouth shut and quietly consider a more plausible explanation for Tony's sudden disappearance.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Kate's judgement, or Gibbs' for that matter, catching sight of the boss heading back their way, face like thunder and still no DiNozzo in sight, but they both were acting irrationally. Granted McGee hadn't been on the team long enough to judge the actions of his new colleagues with any degree of accuracy, but he was still a trained an NCIS Agent and could identify someone who was losing objectivity over a case. Just because they couldn't see DiNozzo anywhere didn't instantly mean he'd been kidnapped.

"Maybe he left to get some air. He didn't look good when he passed me." McGee suggested.

Kate marched up to him, closing the gap between them from feet to mere inches.

"You saw him leave?"

Her tone was biting and McGee involuntarily stepped back before answering.

"Well… no," he stuttered, "but he walked passed me… heading for the van-"

"Tony wouldn't just walk off," she snapped, "we're straight off the highway and the van is clearly still there. He wouldn't get far on foot even if he tried!"

McGee resolutely held in the 'calm down' he wanted to voice, knowing without a doubt that would get him a slap, and not on the back of the head. He may not have been working for Gibbs for long, but he'd seen Tony deal with enough angry women to learn a few things about self-preservation.

While Kate ranted he took the time to think back to what had happened the last time he'd seen Tony. McGee had been sent to fetch the cameras and other scene processing equipment. He'd been struggling back to the room when DiNozzo had bolted passed him, keeping his head down, not giving him a second glance…

"He completely ignored me…." McGee blurted, cutting Kate off.

"That's not unusual," she shrugged, dismissing his half verbalised epiphany.

"No I mean he didn't say anything!" He persisted, "he always has something to say, like 'Probie needs exercise' or something."

Kate nodded, but he could see she wasn't convinced that Tony's lack of teasing meant anything.

"He's had a lot on his mind McGee."

"No," McGee corrected her, getting worked up. He knew what he wanted to say, but struggled to find the right words for her to understand his point. Pausing, taking a breath brought back his focus, "I mean yeah of course he has, but no he looked …"

"What?"

"Scared," McGee announced, feeling like he was telling tales out of school.

"Scared?" Kate parroted, her turn to sound incredulous.

"I guess, yeah."

McGee knew it sounded odd, but he couldn't describe the desperate look he'd seen on Tony's face any better.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Gibbs barked, marching over to them, still stood by the side of the road.

Kate was the first to try and explain.

"McGee was just-"

"I don't care what he was just, find DiNozzo, track his cell, do something and do it now!"

McGee opened his mouth to explain that it didn't quite work that way, but Kate's elbow to the ribs stopped anything but a low 'ow' escaping his lips.

"What was that for?" He hissed, turning to Kate as soon as Gibbs had walked away again, heading back to their car.

"You don't tell Gibbs why you can't do something, you just do it." She explained in a tone like he was a particularly difficult six-year-old, a tone he had only ever heard her use towards Tony.

"How am I supposed to run a trace now?" he shot back, arms flailing, "I need a computer, his cell would have to be making a call I can't…"

"McGee," Kate shut him up, "think! What would Tony do?"

McGee dropped his arms, face drawn into a frown.

"Flirt?"

Kate grunted and hit his arm. McGee gave her what he was sure was a stupid look before the light bulb blink on in his head.

"Abby!"

…..

Abby, having finally finished processing all the evidence from the 7/11 where Tony and Kate had been attacked, had been bouncing around her lab to her newest album celebrating with a Caf-Pow when she received a mystery parcel in the mail from none other than one Tobias Fornell. She'd just signed for it and was placing the heavy cardboard box on her lab table for inspection when Ducky walked in.

"Ducky!" She greeted him with her usual enthusiasm, which dampened considerably upon seeing his uneasy expression. "On my god what's happened?"

"Abigail dear, I wonder if I can have a moment of your time." Ducky sat down gingerly by her computers.

Leaving Fornell's little gift on her evidence table Abby walked over to Ducky and picked up her remote, clicking off her music.

"Something's wrong." She declared into the vast silence, putting on her most serious face.

Ducky smiled sadly at her and for a moment panic built up inside.

"Is it Tony? I thought he was upstairs-"

"No, no nothing, nothing like that," Ducky grabbed her hand and patted it with his own. "I didn't mean to frighten you. Anthony has gone to a crime scene with the others, but as far as I'm aware everyone is fine."

"Oh, thank god. You scared me, Ducky." Abby relaxed, slumping on to her stool. "You looked troubled."

"I am troubled my dear," Ducky sighed wearily, "there is something I know that I need to share with someone, for fear I may worry myself senseless if I don't discuss it."

Despite the heaviness of the words Abby felt a cheek splitting grin overtake her face.

"I'm your gal," she declared happily, "spill it!"

"Quite," Ducky chuckled, then sobered, noticing the package on the table behind her. "What's this?"

"Oh," Abby spun around jumping off her stool, falling for the temporary distraction, "I don't know, it's from Fornell, wanna open it with me?" She eyed Ducky suggestively and was pleased to see a small smile grace his features.

Quickly drawing her box knife across the seal Abby pulled back the lid and stared at its contents.

"It's evidence," she said, reading the printed inventory that lay on top.

Ducky came up on her left and reached inside, pulling out a large clear bag containing an old bloody blanket.

"Not just any evidence," he said after studying the label. "This is from the original crime scene."

Eyes wide Abby searched through the rest, it was indeed all the original evidence from Tony's kidnapping in '78. It looked like she wasn't finished after all.

"Where did Fornell get this?"

Ducky showed her the stamp on the bag indicating the original chain of evidence had ended with the FBI and raised both eyebrows.

"Jethro gave me an FBI report on Anthony's kidnapping," he announced as an aside, "I'm led to believe it differs slightly from the one McGee accessed from the police files?"

"Yeah, Kate mentioned a ransom." Abby nodded distractedly, her mind swimming with questions about the FBI's involvement, wondering how much Fornell had known to begin with.

"Well more than a ransom demand was left out." Ducky added jadedly, returning to his seat and his troubled expression. "The FBI file contained records of a blood test taken while Anthony was in hospital. They hadn't been analysed properly, and are incomplete, but from what I can tell from the levels of phencyclidine in his system Anthony was likely dosed with something during his confinement…"

More questions Abby thought, but managed to bite her tongue, hold in her enthusiasm and respectfully asked to see the results. Ducky instantly produced a sheet of paper from his lab coat pocket and handed it over.

"The print has run I'm afraid."

Abby looked at the sheet, it appeared like whoever had been running the tests had stopped half way for some reason, maybe they were ordered to. Abby mentally shook herself, conspiracy theories where already running rampant through her head, she really didn't need evidence like this to confirm them. To distract herself from following a road Gibbs certainly wouldn't appreciate right now Abby ran over the possible chemical combinations in her head. Coming up with a plausible idea she brought up a programme on her computer and inputted several factors.

"Oh Tony," Abby felt disheartened upon seeing her hunch had been correct.

"What is it?" Ducky sat forward looking hopefully and she almost didn't want to tell him.

"Ketamine," Abby fell back onto her stool once again pulling her gaze away from the screen to address Ducky, "that could explain why he doesn't remember anything. The memories aren't repressed because of trauma. According to these numbers he'd have been so highly dosed the whole thing would have seemed like a nightmare."

"I think he remembers something's," Ducky said quietly, "his adverse reaction to seeing Bower proves that."

"This what you wanted to talk about?" Abby reached under the desk and retrieved Bert, giving him a good fart inducing squeeze.

"Ketamine can cause hallucinations and to a six year old with no idea of what was happening to him, it may have seemed very much like a nightmare." Ducky sounded so pained, she didn't pull him up on ignoring her question.

"Yeah a nightmare you can't wake up from… and with nobody there to give him a big hug after." Abby pouted, squeezing Bert again, thinking of Tony all small and helpless without anyone there to look out for him. "Does Gibbs know about this?"

"He's seen the file," Ducky nodded, looking away from her, "but I haven't spoken to him about my suspicions yet. I wanted a second opinion before I told Jethro."

Abby smiled sadly. It just kept getting worse. She jumped up from her chair suddenly and screamed out her frustration.

"This is soooo unfair." She spun on her large high heels without falling and faced Ducky, "what could Tony have done to deserve this?"

"Abigail," Ducky gentled chastised, remaining seated, "he didn't _do_ anything. He was just a pawn in someone else's game."

"You mean his father." Abby groused, her anger growing with the very thought.

"How do you know about that?"

"Conference room camera," she reminded him quickly, never one to hide anything she did, right or wrong.

Ducky looked away again and Abby froze.

"There's something else?"

"Am I that transparent?" Ducky chuckled sadly, still not making eye contact.

"Ducky?" Abby asked gently, sitting once again in front of him.

For a moment she wasn't sure if he would open up about what else was bothering him or just walk straight out. Abby held her breath in anticipation, prepared to talk him to death before she let him leave, until Ducky's shoulders dropped and he started talking.

"The kinds of injuries inflicted on Tony," he paused, "they're not the usual sort to be found on abused children."

Abby's look of worry morphed into one of disgust.

"There're usual types of abuse on children?" It was times like this she loved her lab and the fact she worked with computers and not directly with the victims, or the bad guys.

"I'm afraid so, yes." Ducky nodded. "Burns are common, as are fractures and sever bruising, but the kind of injuries Tony sustained during the time he was held are more similar to those I've seen on victims of torture, designed to cause substantial pain without permanently harming the victim."

"You think Tony was tortured?"

"Well if I were doing an autopsy I could be definitive, but all I have is photos," Ducky stood and stepped away from the desk turning his back on her. "Not that I would prefer a body you understand…"

"Of course," Abby affirmed and allowed him a moment to gather himself.

She had seen the photos for herself and didn't envy Ducky having to study them in detail. She couldn't even bare thinking about looking at them again and though Abby had never seen childhood pictures of Tony, it wasn't hard for her to see her friend in the young boy's bright green eyes. She was sure Ducky saw it too.

"Why would anyone want to torture a six year old?" Abby spoke eventually, pulling them both back into the here and now.

Ducky spun around to look at her, it was the question of the hour, one that no one as yet had been able to answer. Why exactly was Tony kidnapped twenty-five years ago? As Abby stared at him she was sure from the renewed spark in his eyes that Ducky might now have an answer, but his phone started to ring before she could ask what he was thinking. Abby waited none too patiently while he checked the caller I.D, but hearing the frantic voice on the other end as soon as Ducky hit the accept button had her jumping out of her seat to his side.

"Anthony?" Duck asked confused, holding up one finger to shush her.

Affronted she listened in, startled when Ducky began shouting.

"Anthony, calm down. Tony!" Ducky lowered his phone, "Abby call Gibbs, now!"

She didn't need to be told, Abby had already speed dialled Gibbs the moment Ducky had started shouting Tony's name.

…

Gibbs walked away from his two agents leaving them to discuss how exactly they would follow his orders and reaching the car he pulled out his cell phone. He was preparing to make a call to the director, but the phone started chirruping before he could dial.

"_Gibbs!"_ Abby screamed at him the minute he picked up.

"Abby now is not the time…" He snapped.

"_No it's definitely the time Gibbs, Tony just called Ducky-"_

"Where is he Abby!" He shouted immediately, drawing the attention of Kate and McGee who were still nearby.

"_You mean you don't know?!" _

"Abby!" Gibbs barked.

"_Okay, okay, Ducky said he hung up, but he sounded like he was inside somewhere, it was echoey." _

Gibbs rolled his eyes.

"I need you to find him Abby!" He shouted again.

"What's going on?" Kate asked running over to him, McGee following not far behind.

Gibbs barged passed her without answering, he reached out to open the car door when Abby's next words stopped him in his tracks. She'd managed to give him a rough location of DiNozzo's cell.

"Got it Abs." He clicked his phone shut, disconnecting the call.

Shoving the phone back into his jacket pocket Gibbs turned around slowly, scanning the area. His eyes landed on single structure, set back from the rest of the motel. A broken restroom sign hanging limply on its side from the door.

"Gibbs?" Kate called out to him again as he walked off in that direction.

With swift hand signals he sent Kate and McGee into position and without further questioning they flanked the small building. Gibbs raised his weapon, stepping up to the door, McGee joining him at his side while Kate moved around back. They couldn't see anyone, but he could hear heavy breathing coming from inside. Instincts on high alert Gibbs stepped closer, hoping to get a visual through the gap between the wall and the door, however the sound of glass breaking broke the suspenseful silence and without wasting another second Gibbs burst inside, demanding the occupant to give themselves up.

…

Tony looked at himself in the dirty cracked mirror and hated what he saw. Adrenaline still surged through his veins, powered purely by his own contempt for himself. The whole situation was fucked up. He was fucked up. So much so his own father wanted nothing to do with him. The man was in D.C, where he lived and still hadn't bothered to call, even after Gibbs had questioned him. Okay so he had no idea what had been discussed, but Bower and the kidnapping had to have come up. Turning the tap on Tony cupped his hand under the faucet and splashed water over his face. He was stupid to believe his Dad might actually give a damn about him. Why change a habit of a lifetime?

Looking at his reflection once again he knew he was kidding himself. Tony hadn't been able to prevent that small spark of hope that had alighted inside of him, hope that this time his Dad would come through for him. The fact that it was his boss, and not his own father, keeping him safe walking him through this sudden and surprising upheaval of his life, spoke volumes. Staring at his reflection Tony couldn't help but question why exactly Gibbs was bothering, he saw nothing worth saving here.

The mirror suddenly shattered into a thousand pieces at his feet and Tony didn't know what had happened. That was until he looked down at his hand, clenched tight in a fist, blood dripping from cut knuckles. Before Tony could assimilate what he'd done the room exploded with shouts for him to put his hands up and get on the floor.

"Boss, what the hell?!" Tony spun around, hand instinctively reaching for his weapon as he jumped back from the smashed mirror bits decorating the filthy concrete floor.

"DiNozzo?" Gibbs lowered his gun and relaxed his stance. "What the hell is going on?"

"Funny, that's what I just asked you!" Tony re-joined, breathing heavily like he'd had the shock of his life.

McGee had come through the door immediately after Gibbs, Kate appearing seconds later. Both where now hanging back, guns still drawn, looking between him and Gibbs like they had no idea what to do next.

They all stared at each other, Tony taking in as much air as he could to calm down.

"Why are you in here?" Gibbs demanded, being the first to break the standoff.

Tony stepped back, put the broken mirror shards on the floor between him and them.

"I got some blood on my hands," Tony swallowed, showing them his messed up hand, "must of have been on the door or something."

By the way Gibbs promptly holstered his gun making no move, either to leave or head slap him, Tony knew he'd heard the quiver in his voice, and he was in for a world of trouble for the lie.

"You called Ducky." It wasn't a question.

Tony nodded slowly, but Gibbs' pissed as hell glare told him more information was required before they could move on.

"I didn't get to tell him about the body…" Tony's quietly uttered sentence faded before he could finish.

What could he tell him? Not that he'd had another fucking panic attack after seeing Bowers body, had run off to the bathroom and hyperventilated to Ducky over the phone that was for damn sure.

"McGee, Kate," Gibbs spoke up calmly, but it wasn't the good kind of calm, it was the deadly sort. The kind that occurs just before the axe wielding murder claims his finally victim after letting them believe they'd escaped to safety. "Call Ducky back. Tell him to get over here, then go process the scene."

Gibbs' glare had remained firmly fixed on him while he dished out orders and Tony didn't know how long he was going to be able to keep it together. Ridiculous, but true, Tony DiNozzo was near a full on break down. Two very subdued 'yes Gibbs' followed the boss's order and they filed out. Tony closed his eyes in resignation - they knew. They all knew. He was weak, as stupid as his father always declared him to be. Once they were gone, and he was alone with Gibbs, the glare and the calm, Tony felt like melting into the floor.

"Gibbs I was just…" he stopped, recognising his voice was an octave higher than it should be.

"Just what?" Gibbs snapped without moving a foot in either direction. "You disappear, let us think something's happened to you, when the whole time you've been hiding in the bathroom like a stared kid? You're not a child anymore DiNozzo, you're a trained federal agent!"

That hurt. Tony shuffled on the spot, not wanting to continue if that was how Gibbs was going to be. He distracted himself by taking in every corner of the dirty, smelly, empty room, looking everywhere but at his pissed off boss.

"I needed a minute." He spoke in a rush when the silence became too painful for him to keep it shut, whereas Gibbs thrived in silence, waiting for the moment to strike, Tony was still learning that kind of restraint.

"You panicked?"

Tony adamantly shook his head at Gibbs' assertion, but knew he was basically lying again so quickly changed it to a minute nod, lowering his head in shame.

"We're heading back." Gibbs didn't yell like Tony had been expecting and he instinctively flinched upon seeing the hand reaching out towards him.

Gibbs didn't react to his reaction, not visibly at any rate, but Tony knew there was no way he'd have missed it. Grabbing his arm none too gently Gibbs escorted him out and Tony chose not to fight him.

"Boss, I'm good, I can help." Tony tried a last ditched attempt to redeem himself, even though he knew Gibbs would never believe him in a million years.

"Bowers I.D was left in plain sight…. it's a trap" Gibbs spoke monotone, walking him out across the motel car park, Tony tripping over his own feet just to keep up with him before being pushed into the sedans passenger seat.

"You're going back, no arguments."

Tony fell into the seat and Gibbs slammed the car door before walking away again. Taking a deep, deep breath he buckled himself in, resolutely staring dead ahead, his vision began to blur and Tony resolutely promised he would not embarrass himself further by crying. Not a chance. No matter how hard or upsetting this got Gibbs wasn't going to make him cry.

Without warning Gibbs returned, climbed into the driver seat and started the car. Tony was still pulling himself together and blinked furiously, fighting his body's traitorous reaction. Luckily Gibbs' cell phone rang, offering enough of a distraction to give Tony time to regain control.

"Gibbs" the boss answered it in his usual manner, balancing it on his shoulder while he weaved in and out of traffic on the interstate, then the tone changed, "Abby calm down."

Tony could hear Abby's high pitched screeching from his side of the car, but couldn't make out what she was saying.

"Yes… Well okay, I will… Yes I promise. Now what did Fornell send?" Gibbs sighed tiredly and paused, listening to Abby some more. "Good, get on it."

Gibbs threw the cell behind him and Tony watched it sail through the air to land on the back seat. The short respite where Gibbs seemed less annoyed while he was talking to Abby had given him enough time to compose himself, game face back on Tony acted like the last half hour had never even happened.

"Abby got something?"

He waited with bated breath while Gibbs stared out the front windshield, drawing in patience from somewhere, before answering tersely.

"Fornell sent us the evidence from the original case." Gibbs' eyes soften as he turned to him though, leading Tony to believe Gibbs hadn't missed how close he'd come to completely losing it.

Tony immediately looked away to stare out of the window, nowhere near ready to explain himself or what happened at the scene, to any degree of clarity. He was sure questions would have to be asked and answered eventually, but preferring not to give Gibbs any more reasons to have him benched Tony resolved to stay silent the rest of the drive back.

Gibbs put his foot down on the accelerator as they neared the Navy Yard, jerking the steering wheel angrily as he weaved in and out of traffic, his usual half smile of enjoyment that driving fast usually brought to his face replaced by a grim expression. Tony knew that was because of him. He couldn't even look at Gibbs, let alone speak to explain what had happened, which he was sure was winding him up even more. He kept rubbing his palms together, one hand over the other and fidgeting in his seat, unable to stay still.

"Will you stop that," Gibbs barked at him.

"Sorry," Tony responded on autopilot.

"Don't-"

"Sign of weakness, got it." Tony finished for him, knowing it was coming the minute the apology slipped from his lips. Passing through the check points Tony realised if he was going to explain it would have to be now or never if he didn't want an audience and built up enough courage to try, "Gibbs I-"

"DiNozzo I don't want to hear it." Gibbs cut him off nastily, pumping the accelerator once again.

Tony clamped his jaw shut, eyes misting yet again at the overly harsh treatment. Not his usually MO for dealing with a pissed off Gibbs by a long shot, but normally when Gibbs snapped at him it was for goofing around or talking too much, something easily fixable. He never took it personally. It actually made him feel wanted because it proved Gibbs was paying attention to him. This time Gibbs though it sounded like Gibbs was disappointed in him and that upset him more than his father's failure to call.

When Gibbs made no move to set thing right, even after seeing that he'd upset him Tony got mad, _because_ Tony thought, _let's face it, there's no way the almighty Gibbs doesn't known I'm near tears in the seat next to him, _which in Tony's mind meant Gibbs had passed caring. The burden of his damaged psyche too much to handle in a crisis. Always happened eventually, he _was_ rather high maintenance, at least that's what his step-mother claimed on his board school application. _Well if that's the way he wants to play it…_

"By original case I take it you mean my kidnapping?" Tony clarified sarcastically, taking them back to the phone call with Abby, hoping to provoke him into an argument, but Gibbs thinned his lips and remained silent.

Tony rolled his head back against the headrest sighing out of frustration, wishing the boss would just pick a temperature with him and stick to it. Luke warm would be just fine, Tony didn't think he could cope if Gibbs got all Poppa Smurf protective over him, only to go ice cold again the minute he failed to live up to his expectations.

"You're going nowhere near it, you hear me?" Gibbs spoke suddenly, assuming correctly what his next move was going to be.

Gibbs' almost telepathic powers normally amazed Tony and made him feel like finally someone knew him, could understand him, but not this time. This time Gibbs knowing what he was thinking and cutting him off at the pass only made him mad.

"Oh I hear you alright boss," he replied with obvious fake cheer, "don't worry, I'll be a good little agent and sit at my desk where everyone can see me fall apart!" He punctuated it with a wide teeth showing smile.

Gibbs pulled into the NCIS parking lot, mere feet away from the very spot where Henry Miller had approached him yesterday and slammed on the brakes, sending them both flying forward.

"Enough!" He shouted, unclipping his belt and turning in his seat to loom over Tony, "You will do exactly as I say if you want to keep working on this team, hell for Agency!"

Tony stared wide eyed at Gibbs, rage, fear and upset building up a maelstrom in his gut.

"Fine, fire me," he shouted back, seething. Making a rash decision he stepped out of the car and bent down to lean back inside, "After this I'm not sure I'd want to stay anyway."

Slamming the door, scaring himself with the truth of his hastily made statement, Tony stomped away without a second glance.

…

Gibbs remained seated in the car gripping the steering wheel trying to rein in his temper. He certainly could have handled that better.

Shouting matches weren't usually his thing, except with his ex-wife's and then it was usually them doing the shouting. Problem here was he couldn't reconcile his feelings, he knew he'd been acting irrationally when Tony had disappeared and was now taking it out on the one person he shouldn't be, but logical thinking wasn't one of his better attributes.

His problem here was he got too comfortable, too self-assured that he knew everything there was to know about Tony. Three years ago he'd made it a priority to learn all he could because Gibbs knew from the moment he met Tony he wanted this kid in his life for as long as he could keep him. Not that he'd ever tell DiNozzo that mind you. He could pick on him, slap him on the head and generally work him to death, but Leroy Jethro Gibbs was not going to admit that Anthony DiNozzo Jr meant more to him than any other team member that had come before him.

That's when it hit him, like the mother of all head slaps. He'd broken rule ten again.

_Never get personally involved in a case. _

The case had always been personal and the smart thing would have been to put another team on it. It wasn't too late he reason, there was still time to step away and let objectivity back in, but Gibbs knew in his heart there was no way he'd trust anyone else to protect DiNozzo the way they could. He needed to find this guy. Miller or whoever else might be out there pulling the strings. Bower was dead, but that just meant one less bad guy to cause his kid harm, which was perfectly fine with him.

Gibbs scoffed at his own choice of words. Since when did he make the change from thinking of DiNozzo as a kid, to thinking of him as _his_ kid? Fornell always referred to him as _his _boy and Gibbs had never questioned him. Shaking his head Gibbs stepped out of the car into the warm late-afternoon sunshine, he could see Tony up ahead still slowly making his way inside, pinching his nose like he had the mother of all headaches. Watching him closely Gibbs followed, contemplating how he hadn't notice the role he'd managed to avoid with so many probationary agents, but had fallen so easily into with DiNozzo. It was almost like history repeating itself. Mike Franks had been the agent to bring him into NIS, Gibbs having been not much older than Tony was when Franks gave him the opportunity to learn. Now over a decade later Franks was retired and he was running his own team, finding himself filling his mentor's very large shoes.

Well if that was the case Gibbs needed advice. _His kid, _he thought again with a chuckle, was falling apart and instead of helping him he'd pushed him away with his own insecurities and frustrations. Before Gibbs could properly kick himself for being such a class A bastard his phone rang again.

"Yeah, Gibbs" he answered tiredly.

"_Jethro," _Ducky's exuberant tone altered immediately upon registering his monotonal response,_ "my, is everything all right?"_

Gibbs watched Tony finally enter the building ahead of him, head down, the usually skip to his step completely absent.

"No. What you got?"

"_It'll be best I give you my full report back at NCIS. Needless to say primary cause of death is gunshot wound to the head. I'll see you in 30 minutes."_

Gibbs clicked his phone shut without a goodbye and after going through security, DiNozzo no longer anywhere in sight, he headed to see Abby in her lab while he waited for Ducky.

"Abs?" He called, walking into the dimly lit lab and not seeing her.

"Gibbs, you would not believe how badly the FBI store things," Abby appeared like magic from her office, talking her usual mile a minute, "but you first how's Tony, did you give him the hug I told you to?"

Looking at her expectant face he didn't know what to say, so true to form he ignored what was in front of him and moved on with the case.

"What you got Abs?" He asked, forcing strength into his voice he certainly didn't feel.

Abby immediately deflated.

"You promised Gibbs, you best deliver," she whined, managing to sound upset and angry with him simultaneously.

"The case Abs?" He handed her the Caf-Pow he'd detoured to collect, knowing it wouldn't stop her asking about Tony, but hoping it would at least distract her for a minute.

"Everybody is working," Abby spread her arms wide encompassing all her machines, "but it's going to take time to pull DNA evidence off twenty-five year old stuff. Tony can't be fine." Abby spun to face him, hands on hips.

Gibbs glared at her. Abby continued….

"I talked to Kate, she said he had a panic attack after seeing Bower, plus you brought him back, you wouldn't do that if he was fine,"

"Abs-"

"No Gibbs," she slammed the Caf-Pow down on her desk, flinging her wide to emphasis her meaning, "he needs us, we've got to look out for him, this is big, I mean really big and Kate said you were mad and I know he scared you but you can't be mad at him he's Tony and you love him and-"

"Abby!" Gibbs bellowed, hoping against hope she'd stop. He knew he'd been a bastard and would make it up to him, but right now what he wanted more than anything was answers. "I'm not mad at him. Now tell me …What. Have. You. Got?"

Abby smiled, as if she heard everything he'd thought and turned back to her computer.

"Fornell's box of tricks has all the original evidence in it and I'm running tests that wouldn't have been run at the time."

"Like what?"

"Well for a start, like DNA, because although it wasn't being used in crime investigations successfully at the time it seems the NYPD were savvy enough to be aware of its importance and preserved various pieces of evidence in sealed bags. It's like they were psychic and knew I'd be running the tests thirty years later, spooky no?"

"No." Gibbs shook his head, unwilling to get into her belief in anything supernatural, he'd seen smarter than him try and fail.

"Well the blanket looks filthy, but I'm thinking I could get DNA evidence off it, I'm actually running some cigarette butts now, so once you catch the suspect I'll have something to compare his DNA to and connect them to the case."

"Kate and McGee are on their way back with evidence from Bower's crime scene. Run it, top priority." Gibbs gave her a chaste kiss and walked off.

"I'm going to need another Caf-Pow!" she shouted after him. "And don't forget that hug!"

He was originally heading to autopsy to wait for Ducky, but detoured to update the Director on Bower instead. Walking back down the stairs from MTAC he bumped into McGee and Kate coming off the elevator.

"Ducky back?"

"Should be, he left before us." Kate dropped her bag on the floor in front of her desk, then herself into her chair. "Gibbs we're exhausted."

"What you got?" Gibbs ignored her comment.

Both agents looked at each other and Gibbs glared at them.

"Sorry," Kate stood wearily, "Tony usually fights us for the remote," she covered.

"Where is he boss?" McGee asked nervously, pugging in his camera and typing a few commands into his computer, bringing all the details up on their big screen.

Gibbs softened his features marginally. He was pleased despite the ribbing Tony gave him McGee seemed to care about his wellbeing; it made him feel slightly better knowing that McGee would have Tony's back through-out this. Kate and Abby were good, but they were women. Tony didn't need to be coddled right now, he needed a friend.

"I'm more interested in where Miller is." Gibbs spoke without revealing his current thoughts, focusing only on the case.

"You think he was the one to kill Bower?" Kate came up on his right side.

"I think he's a good suspect."

"What about Senior?" She offered around a barely disguised yawn.

Looking outside Gibbs noted the sun had set while he'd been filling in Morrow and the view they were left with outside the bull pen window was a dark summers evening, the only light emitting from the street lights and those flooding the ship yard.

"What about him?"

"Well we were asking him questions about Bower only this morning and suddenly he turns up dead?" Kate pointed out.

Gibbs nodded. It was a theory, though he doubted it. Senior didn't strike Gibbs as being the leader of anything, let alone masterminding a murder, the man was full of hot air and not much else.

"Boss I think I have an idea of how to bring in Tony's father." McGee approached him, handing Gibbs several bank statements from off-shore accounts all with DiNozzo's name on. "We can't arrest him, but this may be enough for him to agree to come in and answer some questions."

"Ours or the IRS you mean?" Kate smiled.

"Do it." Gibbs thought that was the best news he'd heard all day.

"Gibbs-"

"I don't want to know. Whatever works." He moved behind his desk, indicating the discussion was closed.

"Right," Kate muttered under her breath, "McGee, come on!"

Gibbs witnessed Kate kick McGee and force him back out. Once he was sure they'd gone he collapsed into his chair, placing his head in his hands and aiming a lingering glance at Tony's empty desk across the way.

…

Feeling like crap, tears on the brink of falling and about to fall apart Tony wanted nothing more than to throw up. He was huddled down low in the corner of one of the many storage rooms on the basement level trying to shut the world out and the last thing he needed right now was to draw the attention of whoever was encroaching on his personal space.

After his spat with Gibbs Tony had needed to cool off, the comment about leaving had shot straight out of his mouth, he hadn't meant it or at least he didn't think he did. What was scaring him now though was what a real possibility it was, not Gibbs firing him, he had been threatened with that every week since he'd started working at NCIS, but him feeling like he couldn't possibly stay, that was new and the thought he may have no choice but to leave once all this was over cut him deeply.

Before hiding here he had originally headed straight for the locker rooms, intending on using the gym for a bit to vent, but a class was monopolising the mats. There was no way he'd be able to enter unseen and it would only take seconds for someone to notice he was hitting the punching bag a little harder than necessary and make a call to Gibbs. Despite having the reputation of a complete bastard the man had surprisingly loyal spies everywhere. Deciding to bite-the-bullet he'd then headed back up to the bullpen to wait for the others, assuming Gibbs would be down with Abby getting results on what Fornell had sent over, revealing yet more secrets he probably wasn't ready to hear.

However his temporary resolve hadn't lasted long. Storming off from the car had been as much about being angry as preserving his dignity. After failing to find a vent his frustrations, walking into the empty bullpen and having no one to keep up an act of calmness for Tony felt his resolve quickly waning. It had started as a slight trembling in his hands, building up to full on hyperventilating by the time Tony stumbled into the nearest, darkest, quietest place he could find, hoping to hide for as long as it took to rebuild himself.

In the conference room earlier Gibbs had been so gentle with him, so understanding and he ashamedly craved to have that back, even knowing that if Gibbs was being nice it meant something was very, very, wrong. It honestly scared the hell out of him, headslaps and threats Tony could live with. If Gibbs was paying enough attention to him to chastise him, then he clearly cared about him. His uberbastard side though, which had come out in the car, now that hurt. Tony slumped back, resting his arms loosely against part raised knees. He didn't know where that left him.

It became clear after several minutes of listening to the person stumble around and knock things over that whoever it was that had entered his secret sanctuary wasn't leaving any time soon. So schooling his features, Tony mentally pulled himself together and feigned indifference as usual when he was hurt where no one could see.

"You know it's much easier if you turn on the light."

The young guy with glasses stumbled back upon hearing his voice and Tony couldn't help but outright laugh. Within seconds the lights flickered on and Tony felt exposed sat in his little corner.

"What are you doing in here?"

"Just hanging out, you know day two of protective custody, shit hits the fan and Anthony DiNozzo keeps on going." He flung out one hand, supposedly emphasizing just how unflappable he was.

Tony cringed, so much for putting himself back together, now the autopsy gremlin was looking at him as if he'd grown a second head and neither of them knew what to say.

"Erm, should I get Doctor Mallard, he just got back from the scene?" Palmer stepped back, looking like he was all set to run out of there as soon as the opportunity presented itself, but wanted his permission first.

Tony chuckled. He didn't think he would meet anyone greener than McGee.

"It's okay Palmer."

The gremlin looked surprised Tony knew his name.

"You sure, you don't look well and your hand is bleeding."

Tony raised his eyes to meet Palmer's. He'd forgotten about smashing the mirror and wondered why he hadn't felt the pain until now his attention had been drawn to it.

"You know what's been going on?" He said looking around for something to wrap his hand in.

Palmer immediately looked away, he'd heard something obviously, but having only been working with Ducky a couple of months, Tony guessed he hadn't quite worked out how to separate all the scuttlebutt from the facts.

"Were you injured yesterday?" Palmer gathered himself and re-established eye contact, pointing at the bruise still visible on Tony's cheek where Bower had hit him only. "Doctor Mallard got a call from Agent Gibbs really late, and he stayed all night. I only know because I noticed his car hadn't moved and everyone was wearing the same clothes when I came in this morning, including Abby. Not that I notice what people are wearing, I mean I do but not like that I…"

"Palmer." Tony interrupted, "stop talking."

"Okay." Palmer nodded, still looking a bit nervous.

Tony was tempted to tell him to fetch Ducky if it made him feel better, Tony didn't intend to be here when they got back, but he decided that would be cruel and would worry Ducky unnecessarily, as well as get the new guy into undeserved trouble. He was the one hiding in the supply cupboard stupidly thinking no one would find him.

Tony was still looking for something to wrap his hand in when he caught it on a box low on the shelf next to him and yanked it back hissing in agony. Opening screwed shut eyes Tony was startled to find Palmer kneeling in front of him. Without a word he took Tony's palm in his and examined it.

"What are you doing in here anyway, shouldn't you have finished hours ago?" Tony turned the topic around and onto the gremlin.

"Oh well," Palmer smiled, obviously not catching the rouse for what it was while he stood and busied himself looking for something, "Dr Mallard was talking to Agent Gibbs and sent me away, yeah he does that a lot when he doesn't want me to hear top secret stuff going on so I usually clean the pipets or restock the supplies on the van. It's time consuming but quite calming..."

Tony half listened as Palmer gathered what looked like alcohol wipes and bandages while he recited the history of the pipet. He couldn't believe there was someone else that rambled as much as Ducky did. Tony would give anything to hear one of his uncomfortable tales right now, even if Ducky's stories of his wilder days were akin to a grandfather telling his grandson sex stories about grandma, anything had to better than the history of pipets. If this was what happened from spending too much time around the old guy Tony thought Gerald had had the right idea with those headphones – it wasn't boredom, it was protection. Going back to what Palmer had said before he launched into his pipet lecture, there was only one subject that was top secret at the moment and he was at the centre.

"You hear anything good before you left?" Tony interrupted, and not feeling at all bad about it.

He sucked in a sudden breath when Palmer swiped his cut knuckles with the alcohol wipe.

"Hmm, no not really," Palmer answered without stopping what he was doing.

After picking small glass fragments out he quickly cleaned the rest of Tony's hand before bandaging it.

"Hey, have you eaten, because I've been stuck here all day and Dr Mallard wouldn't let me leave for lunch and I hate eating in autopsy-"

"Palmer, you asking me to dinner?" Tony cracked a teasing smile, the first real one he'd felt all day. He took a moment to enjoy the flustered look on his face. "Sure Palmer, I could really go for pizza right about now."

"I don't think they sell Pizza in the Navy Yard."

"Well, then, since I'm banned from leaving we'll just have to get it delivered." Tony stood, admiring his now clean and wrapped hand as he walked Palmer out the door.

…

Gibbs was leaving autopsy when he got the call from Kate informing him they had Senior upstairs in the briefing room. Entering the elevator Gibbs thought on what he'd just been told. Ducky had walked him through Bower's injuries. No fight, head wound being the kill shot. Cut and dry execution. There was no doubt in his mind this had been if not a trap, a message to Tony. However the thought that someone a lot smarter than Bower was behind all this wasn't Gibbs' major concern at the moment. What occupied his mind most was what Ducky had discussed with him afterwards.

"_There something else you want to share Duck?" Gibbs had noticed he seemed distracted and by the way Ducky glared at his assistance, who promptly ran off, Gibbs knew he probably wouldn't like it._

"_Before you called me to the scene I had a chance to draw up a preliminary report on Anthony's injuries from when he was six."_

"_Go on." Gibbs leaned back onto a free autopsy table._

"_I'm afraid what I've found merely raises more questions than it answers." Ducky walked over to his desk and pulled out the scotch, pouring two glasses. "I know regulations state no drinking on the job but since it is" he glanced at the clock, "passed nine in the evening I assume we can be forgiven."_

"_That bad?" Gibbs followed him over, taking the offered glass._

"_Tony's injuries, they aren't consistence with the usual binding marks or burns you'd find on victims who have been tied up. At first I assumed his other bruises were simply a result of ill treatment, they confirmed what our dead man claims to have inflicted after all."_

"_But?"_

"_There is a definite pattern I hadn't noticed at first and then I remembered where I've seen these before Jethro," For a change Ducky skipped the background to his story and got straight to the point, which was enough to convince Gibbs this was going to be really bad, "amongst his many injuries where two very defined marks on his temple." _

_Ducky picked up and passed him a blown up copy of one of Tony's photos. Gibbs examined it but couldn't quite work out what he was seeing._

"_They're electrical burns. Their placing leads me to the conclusion that at some point Anthony received electro shock therapy," Ducky paused, "Torture Jethro."_

"_Jesus Duck, he was six years old!" Gibbs downed his drink, slamming the glass on the table before pacing the length of autopsy._

"_I talked to Abigail, Jethro what if it wasn't something they wanted to know, but more over something they wanted to know if he knew?"_

_Gibbs shook his head, not taking it in, the idea that Tony had been kidnapped and hurt was bad enough, knowing he'd been drugged and tortured was too much._

"_Duck you're talking in riddles."_

"_He saw something, maybe at his home," Ducky sounded like he was reaching, "something these men went to great lengths to ensure he never told anyone-"_

"_The drugs found in his system?" Gibbs interrupted._

"_Abby identified the compound possibly as Ketamine. A strong dose at that."_

"_Strong enough to make him forget everything?"_

"_More like dismiss the whole thing as some awful nightmare," Ducky nodded, knowing as well as Gibbs did that if what they were suggesting was correct, then there was no doubt of Tony's father having some direct involvement in what happened. "If Tony's mother and father encouraged him to believe so, it's entirely possible." _

_Gibbs poured himself another drink. If he was going to have to arrest DiNozzo's father, he'd certainly need it._

The elevator dinged its arrival and Gibbs stepped out, the lateness of the evening making itself known in the form of dim lights and an empty office. Knowing time was escaping them darkened his mood further, until the scent of DiNozzo's favourite pizza followed by light hearted laughter assaulted his senses.

"Having fun DiNozzo?" Gibbs commented heading towards his desk with carefully concealed amusement at the sight of Tony with Ducky's new assistant, eating at pizza DiNozzo's desk.

"Agent Gibbs!" Palmer jumped, discarding his pizza slice.

Tony didn't even flinch and Gibbs felt comforted that Tony looked almost relaxed, not even putting on his usual show of feigning surprise at his arrival. "Boss, just having pizza, want some?" He smiled cockily back at him.

If anything Gibbs was relieved. Before they'd even got into details about the case Ducky had torn a strip off him for being so hard on Tony at the scene, something told him Kate had a hand in that as well as Abby. After the argument they'd had in the car Gibbs wasn't sure what Tony's state of mind would be. The fret to leave NCIS Gibbs hoped was just the stress of everything. Gibbs knew, rewind the clock a fair few years, if it were him at the centre of this case, he'd probably feel the same. Either way, he was much calmer now, despite the new information from Ducky, and Tony seemed back on form too, though what he was doing with Palmer of all people, he really didn't know.

The pair carried on with their dinner, talking and laughing, and Gibbs was content to let them continue. Knowing that being able to relax and be himself for a change was just what DiNozzo needed right now. Gibbs was always able to gage Tony's mental state by his behaviour. Moody and argumentative, Gibbs would be very concerned that Tony planned on doing something reckless. Needy and eager to please meant he was feeling insecure and wanted attention, that behaviour often lead to acting out that lead to headslaps and once a time out in the elevator. No one on the current team knew about that and Gibbs hoped he'd never have to punish DiNozzo that way again, the kid had taken it to heart. No matter, what he was looking at now was a DiNozzo doing his best to not just look comfortable, but be it as well. It was a good start, having DiNozzo feel secure with them, with him, on this case made Gibbs feel like he'd made the right choice by not letting Morrow give it to another team.

Despite not wanting to spoil the semi normalcy of the moment, it was late and there was still a lot to be done.

"Palmer," Gibbs cocked his head to the side and Palmer ran, leaving the bullpen faster than any probie agent ever could.

"You've got my dad in interrogation?" Tony spoke softly once Palmer was gone.

The tension was clearly back in his posture, all the calm Gibbs had briefly witnessed walking in having been sucked out like they'd entered an air lock. Gibbs stood up and perched himself on the corner of Tony's desk, acting unsurprised that Tony knew what they'd been doing.

"He's in the conference room. You want to see him?" Gibbs asked casually, taking a cooling pizza slice.

Watching from the corner of his eye he could see Tony was mulling it over. Obviously it wasn't a cut and dry decision, aside from the fact that his father had never told him about his kidnapping, Gibbs knew the fact that Senior hadn't even bothered to call him while he was in D.C really hurt, but before Tony could decide, Gibbs' phone rang and he answered it.

He barked a gruff 'yeah' down the line and hung up without comment. Clipping his phone back to his belt Gibbs eyed DiNozzo questioningly. They nodded at one another and though it felt wrong to leave him alone again Gibbs knew he what he had to do and left to talk to his father.

…

"Why are you in D.C Mr DiNozzo?" Gibbs launched into his questioning as soon as he walked through the door of the conference room, offering him a bottle of water which was grudgingly accepted.

Sitting down opposite the man Gibbs envisioned himself pressing Senior's face fully into the table, cutting off his air supply until all he could do was beg for his life. None of what he was thinking showed on his face though, all Mr DiNozzo would see was a very calm special agent sat across the table from him.

"I was asked by a friend." DiNozzo answered, "Look Gibbs what is this really all about? I merely offered that lovely young lady my help in sorting out this mess Junior's supposedly in, which you haven't explained much about. Where is he anyway?"

Gibbs smiled, he no longer had the urge to suffocate the man, what he really wanted to do was punch him instead. He hadn't asked Kate what she'd had to do to get him in here, but one thing he did know, DiNozzo Sr wasn't here because he wanted to help.

"You know a Henry Miller?" Gibbs sidestepped the question about Tony and slipped a picture of Miller from there security cameras in the parking lot across the table.

Senior visibly bristled, not so much that anyone could tell, but Gibbs saw it, the brief flash of his eyes, slight shifting forward in his seat, he was definitely hiding something.

"So that's what this is all about," Senior chuckled, his face turning suddenly hard. "Let's not beat around the bush Gibbs, you already know I was partners with Miller, Anthony would have told you. I came here because I was told Anthony needed my help, and since that clearly isn't the case I will be leaving."

DiNozzo stood, Gibbs didn't bother.

"Sit down Mr DiNozzo." He said none too politely.

DiNozzo Sr seemed to consider his options, before carefully retaking his seat. Gibbs waited, watched Senior open the bottled water and take a sip.

"Telling us about Miller will help your son." He said calmly.

"I fail to see how."

"Have you seen him recently?"

"He contacted me a couple of days ago, invited me to D.C to discuss a new project."

Gibbs sat forward, instincts on high alert.

"Miller is the reason you're here?"

Senior either didn't notice the change in his demeanour or didn't care, he continued to sit back as if the fact that Henry Miller was in town and in contact with him was of no consequence.

"Look Gibbs I don't know what Anthony has told you about me, but don't believe everything the boy says. He has a wild imagination."

Gibbs regrouped and mentally counted to ten before asking his next question.

"Where's Miller now?"

"I don't know," Gibbs glared, "I really don't, look Gibbs I don't what any of this has got to do with Anthony, or you for that matter, you may have my son hanging off your every word but I'm not so easily intimidated."

Gibbs absorbed his surprise, not letting this DiNozzo catch on to the fact he didn't know Tony had spoken about him to his Dad, though it did explain why, when they'd approached Senior in the restaurant earlier, he seemed to know who he was.

"When are you meeting him?"

"Who's says I am?" Senior quickly deflated under Gibbs' glare, "Fine, not that it's any of your business, but we've having lunch at the Adam's House tomorrow. I'm only telling you this because Henry Miller is a good friend and he's done nothing wrong, he has nothing to hide."

"That's not what the FBI say."

"That was ages ago. He's been living in England for the past twenty something years, there's no way he's done anything they'd be interested in now." Senior stood, this time grabbing his jacket. "Now if you don't mind, I'm leaving."

Gibbs pushed back on the table to stand and walked him out the door. Seeing Tony was absent from his desk he escorted Mr DiNozzo through the bull pen and down in the elevator. Arriving at the entrance level of NCIS and just before passing him over to the guards Gibbs spoke for the first time since their interview ended.

"One more question Mr DiNozzo, when he called did Miller ask you about Tony?"

"I told him Anthony was working for NCIS." Senior shrugged, Gibbs held eye contact, "Look I don't know why you were dredging up the past yesterday, but what happen… it was a long time ago, Tony doesn't even remember it happening, and for his sake you should leave it alone."

Gibbs kept his mouth firmly shut knowing the more cards he held the easier it would be to bring him in when the time came. Senior seemed to interpret his silence as agreement and past the guards, handing in his visitors badge before walking out the main doors. Gibbs stepped back inside and let the doors close, the elevator taking him back upstairs in silence.

TBC…

A/N:

No awful cliffy this time, hope you still come back for the next part! Hopefully not so long a wait next time;) It was half term here, we went to Somerset Haven – in the rain, hail, wind etc… there was lots of mud. Won't complain too much because I'm sure a lot of you have had it far worse! Guest: Sorry no pre SS-Sandy update! I'm just not that quick lol. xxx THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS THEY ARE FAB! Xxx


	5. Chapter 5

Gibbs resolutely stared at the doors, using the time on the ride back up to relax before putting his game face on. A dull ache had started to build below his left shoulder and he rubbed his chest to ease away the discomfort. It had been more difficult than he'd anticipated holding on to his infamous stoical attitude during their conversation. What with Senior's utter arrogance coupled with the new information Ducky had told him about the kidnapping, Gibbs didn't know how much longer he could keep a level head_._ The hope that talking to Mr DiNozzo father to father would somehow convince him to give up the missing details looked to be nothing more than a pipe dream. Ducky could probably get more useful information out of Craig Bower than he could Senior at this moment. The problem was the more time that passed without a lead the more time Henry Miller had to make his next move and that was time Gibbs simply could not afford.

They needed a new plan and no matter how much he didn't want to put Tony through it, Senior was leaving him with very few options. Gibbs was formulating his next move when the elevator doors opened to reveal Abby, standing mere inches from his face.

"GibbshaveyouseenTony?" She greeted him with less calm than usual.

The dull ache sparked into a spasm.

"He's fine." Gibbs grated out releasing the sharp intake of breath he'd taken at the increased pain.

Abby narrowed her worried eyes at his answer, but didn't budge leaving him no other options than to physically move her out of the way as stepped off the elevator and into the squad room. Marching through the bullpen his gaze lingered briefly on Tony's empty desk before continuing up the stairs towards MTAC, Abby following a few steps behind him, demanding to know where Tony is the whole way.

"Gibbs, don't ignore me!" She shouted upon him reaching mezzanine.

Gibbs stopped abruptly on the very top step and slowly turned around to face her, glare fixed and ready.

"Abby?" He snapped.

"I saw him earlier with Palmer and now I can't find him anywhere." She said quietly, gaze directed toward her very large boots, "I'm really worried about him."

"Why?"

"He kinda got some information out of me." She winced.

Gibbs rolled his eyes, turned back around and started walking again Abby hot on his heels. DiNozzo was always getting information out of people, it was his job and not something he needed to worry about.

"I'm really sorry Gibbs, I'm usually better at keeping secrets though this wasn't a secret, more of information not to be shared, but Tony can be real sneaky when he wants to be I mean really…"

Entering the conference room where he'd just interviewed Senior he let Abby keep talking since there was no point interrupting her when she was on a roll and while she tried to explain what had happened when Tony, along with Palmer, had asked her to join them for pizza Gibbs busied himself with collecting the mineral water bottle Senior had drunk from.

…anyway I told him that Kate was bringing his Dad in and I don't think he took it well, well as well as you'd expect which for Tony is hard to tell because you think he's doing okay because he's all happy and jokey sometimes which is good but there's the jokey bad where he's not actually good at all he's just pretending to be…"

"Test this, fingers prints and DNA." Gibbs interrupted completely nonplussed by the confession,

"I'm assuming you're assuming I found something on that old evidence." She responded snagging the bottle he was holding out to her with one latex glove wrapped around it.

"Did you?"

"Not yet, a lot of the evidence is so old nothing but mothballs survived, but I'm still waiting for results on the cigarettes. Gibbs I'm really sorry I told Tony about his Dad I -"

"Ah!" Gibbs shushed her by raising his index finger. Satisfied his instructions were clear he started to walk away, but saw her drop her head and quickly stepped back. "Tony finding out I was bringing in his father is not your fault. I was going to tell him before I spoke to his dad anyway."

In truth he knew Tony would've found out long before he got the chance to tell him. He was a great investigator, to his own detriment sometimes. Sighing at the truth of that he began to walk away again, heading back down into the bullpen.

"You were?" Abby chased him after a moment of hesitation, starting in with the yelling once again. "You were going to let him see Tony weren't you? He might be involved and you were going to let him near him?"

Gibbs wanted to respond to the accusations being fired at him, but knowing as he did that they came from a place of love he let them slide. Instead he silently took his seat behind his desk intending to get something productive done before he finally went home.

"Abby." He barked, tipping his head indicating the direction of her lab when she failed to do anything but stand before his desk.

"You haven't given him that hug yet have you?" She glared, still holding the water bottle between her fingers in one hand.

Gibbs picked up a file that had been left on his desk and gave Abby a level look. She glared back at him without a flinch.

"Go. Now." He grated like a man on his last nerve.

"Fine," she groused, walking away with a stare that promised severe retribution.

He should have known he couldn't promise Abby something like that and expect her to forget it. Toying with the idea of which would be worse; asking DiNozzo to lie to her versus actually just giving him a damn hug, Gibbs looked at his watch. A new day was due to start in less than an hour. Looking at the file he held in his hand Gibbs hoped it offered more than its plain magnolia cover suggested, otherwise receiving a hug from him would be the least of DiNozzo's worries.

..

.

"What are you doing out here?" Kate spoke softly, enjoying Tony's little jump of surprise as she sneaked up on him.

Kate had been making her way back up to the bullpen from Abby's lab when she'd seen Tony duck out into the stairwell. Out of concern she'd followed him, knowing that Gibbs would be livid if he disappeared again today. Watching him ascend the stairs she'd wondered where he was going, until he bypassed the last floor in favour of the roof.

After they'd been blown up at the German bomb factory she'd not been able to so easily get back on the job like nothing had happened. She'd felt it was her fault Susan had been able to get hold of the explosives that killed one man and injured several others, including them in the blast. Gibbs had agreed. It was Tony who had found her hiding in the evidence garage days later, because Abby was busy testing weapons in the lab and Ducky had already left for the day. She'd wanted to speak to him even less than she'd wanted to speak to Gibbs and tried to leave as soon as he'd entered, but in the end neither of them said much of anything. He simple showed her into the stairwell and led the way to the top of the NCIS building in silence.

The view from the top had been pretty specular that night as they'd stood there together looking out over the Potomac at the city bathed in moonlight. That night Kate thought for once she'd understood what DiNozzo was talking about, ironic that it was one of the rare occasions he wasn't actually talking.

The view tonight wasn't quite so magical. Kate opened the roof door to reveal a rather murky sky that suggested a fierce storm was on the way.

"Just getting some air," she heard him say over the light wind that blew soundless in from the Potomac.

Unsurprised that he'd heard her approach Kate knew better than to make a comment about the air on the ground being just as good. As she got closer she noticed he was shivering despite the current humidity telling her he'd be in no mood for their usual bickering, which he clearly normally enjoyed so much. Truth be told she enjoyed it to, being able to tease someone and let off a bit of steam had helped her to settle into the high paced highly stressed life of an NCIS agent. Protecting the President was a big responsibility, but it didn't compare to the excitement the came with working on Gibbs' team.

Sidling up beside him Kate intended to talk to Tony like a friend, but as soon as she saw the twirling smoke leaving the little white stick protruding from his lips any intent of having a calm understanding conversation went out the window.

"DiNozzo!" Kate grabbed the lit cigarette hanging off Tony's lips.

"Kate what the hell?" Tony made to snatch it back, but Kate tossed it before he could get near.

"You don't smoke Tony!" She yelled, palm held out indicating he was to hand over the box he had clutched in his left hand.

"Well I thought _now_ would be as good a time as any to START!" He tossed her the box. "Stress relief, _hello_?" Tony mocked, before adding, "The Duke smoked all the time."

"Oh so you've seen it in a movie, it must be a good idea." Kate rolled her eyes, stuffing the battered half empty packet in her pocket, "what are you, twelve?"

"I do whatever I want." Tony moaned, pacing away from her towards the roofs edge.

"Yeah well I'll be surprised if Gibbs lets you watch anything above PG13 after I tell him about this." Kate stated plainly, placing both hands on her hips.

"Hey," Tony spun around and pointed at her, "Gibbs cannot control what movies I watch," he snapped, sounding less sure about that than his words suggested, "he doesn't even know how to work the parental setting on my TV, besides, PG13 you can still get boobs." He finished in all seriousness.

"You're such a child." She shook her head, looking away while trying not to laugh at his obvious attempt to distract her from her point.

"I've smoked before." He added haughtily.

"_When?_" Kate asked in disbelief.

She stepped closer, pinning him with her narrow eyed gaze, daring him to prove his fallacy. Tony may act like a jock a lot of the time, but despite sports carrying him through college Kate knew he was more of a nerd than he was letting on.

"High school," he answered after a little too much thought, averting his gaze.

"Go on." Kate encouraged, enjoying the flash of fear that crossed his face as he clearly tried to make up a story on the spot.

When he hummed and hawed, Kate knew this round went to her and she laughed at his poor attempt to hide his embarrassment at being caught out.

"Well I stood next to someone who did." Tony deflated, scuffing his feet and kicking some gravel up from the roof, sending it trickling down onto the unsuspecting people below.

"Ha, I knew it." She smiled, triumphantly, before teasingly adding, "You sure you're old enough for PG13?"

Tony smiled tightly and mimicked her in a high pitched voice before dropping to his butt, wrapping both arms across his chest with a dejected huff.

"Ah hell," Kate muttered under her breath.

She'd intended to be understanding and supportive, but instead had acted like the stereotypical big sister, raking him over the coals for being an idiot then picking on him mercilessly until she was declared the winner.

"You don't want to start smoking, its hell to quit." She offered as an olive branch, sitting down beside him.

"And how would you know?" He muttered sullenly, fitting into the role of bratty little brother well and making her work for his forgiveness.

"Catholic school DiNozzo," Kate smiled to herself, shaking her head at his childish audacity. "It wasn't all church and Rosary Beads you know."

Tony's eyes lit up and despite liking the small smile that played on his lips, Kate wished she'd kept her mouth shut and just let him smoke the damn thing.

"You still haven't shown me that uniform." He winked, waggling his eyebrows and still smiling.

"You're certifiable." She said with the hint of a smile looking out over the Potomac.

"I will be if this goes on much longer." He admitted softly, his voice catching at the end.

She turned to him and his eyes searched hers. Kate didn't know what he was looking for, but sensing their conversation could only go downhill from here she took the lead and stood up.

"Come on let's go back inside, I'm freezing." Kate lightly smacked his shoulder before walking away, but Tony didn't move. "DiNozzo," she stopped and turned around, "hurry up."

Kate watched him gaze nervously out into the night and she rubbed her arms to ward off the chill of the wind as it picked up speed. Just when she was about to storm over to drag his ass up Tony jumped to his feet and strolled toward her. He still looked reluctant to return inside and, though initially puzzled, Kate had a sudden thought about why.

"Gibbs already escorted your Dad out, you won't have to see him." Kate whispered to him gently.

She wasn't sure how well her inference would go over, Tony liked to keep people guessing about what he was really thinking and feeling, despite the nonsense that often came out of his mouth. He could be strange like that sometimes.

"You think I should see him? We haven't really spoken properly in years. I… what would I say to him?"

Pleased he'd chosen to be honest with her Kate considered the question and gave him what he deserved. An honest answer.

"I think it's fine if you don't want to see him." She shrugged, acting like they were talking about one of Tony's movies instead of his father.

"I think Gibbs holds the same opinion." Tony gave her a soft smile in return.

Kate could see the insecurity oozing out of every pore. She realised then that no matter what hurt he's put through, be it from Gibbs' yelling and headslaps or Senior's complete ignorance of his son's feelings, Tony wouldn't change. He'd always be seeking approval from the key authority figure in his life. With that in mind she came to another realisation…

"Tony, about what happened at the crime scene-"

"I'm sorry alright, it was…" he snapped started walking quickly towards the door, "I lost it. Gibbs already bawled me out on the way back, I don't need any crap from you too."

"I was going to say I'm sorry," she caught up to him, "we should've realised what seeing Bower again, even dead, would do to you." Tony snapped his head up, obviously surprised by her apology, "And Gibbs shouldn't have yelled at you."

"I threatened to quit." Tony said abruptly.

He had his hand posed on the door handle, clearly to her he was not yet ready to open it and face whatever waited for him on the other side.

"Why?" Kate shouted, not meaning to sound angry. "Gibbs has always had that second B, you've been here three years, you're more used to it than any of us."

"It's not that." He paused, struggling to explain, "I keep thinking about _those pictures_ and all I keep thinking is you guys all know that stuff about me, even Probie. How can I keep working here after this?"

Tony looked at her beseechingly, as if it was a done deal that only she could change and Kate didn't know what to say. It had crossed her mind that everyone knowing about this would be difficult for him. He wasn't a private guy by any means, in fact he often took great delight over telling them all about his escapades and conquests, however the difference was he usually chose what to share and when. You didn't need to be a profiler to understand how the personal details involved in this case being so out of his control would affect him.

"Don't think about it now," she put her hand in his and squeezed, "let us close the case first." _Protect you first, _she insisted in her head.

She wasn't going to try and talk him around right now, whether Tony admitted it or not he was physically and emotionally drained. Everything was so near the surface she could almost taste the tension in the air. They were holding hands for god's sake and he wasn't cracking a joke or making a pass. Going over the future now, before they had the present sorted, would be a waste of time.

She heard Tony take a deep breath, and Kate expectantly held hers, watching him push down on the handle to open the door.

…

"Boss!" McGee came running around the corner into the bull pen looking excited. "I think I found Miller."

"The Adams House Hotel," Gibbs said with chagrin.

McGee gapped.

"Yeah how did you…?" Gibbs gave him a look and McGee knew that meant it didn't matter, "Well are we going to talk to him?"

Gibbs stilled in his chair, and when the silence stretched on McGee panicked that he'd spoken out of turn. Sure he was being impatient, but his one main task since yesterday was to find Miller and now they knew where he was staying, however they found out, it was a major breakthrough!

"First we need to know what he's been doing-"

Gibbs didn't get a chance to finish, unable to stop the pleased smile forming on his face McGee ran to his desk, grabbed the clicker and brought Miller's reconstructed recent history up on the plasma.

"Since arriving in Washington Miller has made next to no traceable purchases or transactions," McGee began with the bad news, tensing when Gibbs moved to stand next to him. "However we know he's only been in Washington a week because he used a past alias, Frank DiCapo, to board a flight from London Heathrow to Newark on Monday, airport security footage confirms it's him. He spent one night in New York before making the trip via private jet to the air base here, apparently through a mutual friend of Mr DiNozzo." Gibbs gave him an enquiring look. "The friend also transported Mr DiNozzo this morning. Frank DiCapo was on the flight list both times, only I didn't make the connection until I discovered the flight from Heathrow."

When he finished McGee was out of breath. He hoped he hadn't sounded too much like Tony, he hated when Tony was all smug about the details he found, but frankly, though it may not be much, these meagre bits had taken a lot longer to dig up than anyone would think.

"Good job McGee," Gibbs said and to McGee actually sounded pleased.

He wanted to collapse, but knew Gibbs wouldn't be impressed if a simple briefing had him dead on his feet.

"He must be paying cash for everything which was why he was difficult to trace, but I have found a room booked under the name Frank DiCapo at the Adams house, the man staying there matches Miller's description."

"Let me guess, 70's smartly dressed about 6ft tall with white hair."

"Er, yeah boss." McGee frowned.

"Also matches Tony's father."

"He's staying at the Adam's House?"

McGee had crossed checked the names earlier, and of course when he'd traced Mr DiNozzo to the restaurant where he and Kate had picked him up, he hadn't found a reservation for DiNozzo at the Adam's House.

"How did you find out about the Alias?" Gibbs asked suddenly, putting aside the issue of Senior's roll in all this for now.

"The file was left on my desk I thought…" McGee stated confused.

"I take it this is what you're referring to?" Gibbs waved a plain file folder at McGee, "found it on my desk after interviewing Mr DiNozzo."

"Yeah, I found one on my desk too."

"You didn't see who dropped it off?"

"Um, no." McGee gulped, he hadn't questioned it to be truthful. "The note said it was from the FBI I assumed Fornell…"

"Never assume McGee-"

"-always double check. Boss I'm sorry-"

"McGee!" Gibbs yelled.

McGee cut himself off immediately, didn't want to break two of Gibbs rules in the same minute.

"I'll take it to Abby, call the FBI and check the security footage." McGee ran over to his desk.

Retrieving the hand written note he quickly bagged it, showing it to Gibbs before running out of the bullpen heading for Abby's lab.

…

"Boss?" Tony asked quietly.

McGee had ran passed him like his ass was on fire and for once Tony was sure he'd had no hand in it.

"He's gone DiNozzo." Gibbs answered, looking up from his desk to acknowledge Tony as he and Kate entered the bullpen together.

"I was asking about what had McGee's panties in a twist, but okay." Tony slunk behind his desk with care and Gibbs watched him silently. "Did he say anything we could use?"

"He has a meeting with Miller tomorrow at the Adams house."

"You're not serious?" Kate asked, her jaw hanging open.

Instead of making a quip Tony openly stared at Gibbs, eyes wide with worry and Gibbs stared back at him.

"You okay DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked quietly, well aware Kate was looking at them both with concern.

DiNozzo smiled a watery version of his usual cheeky grin, but didn't speak. Determined to hold his gaze, Gibbs was surprised at how much it hurt inside to see the smile that was usually so bright being used as protection to stop them seeing how much he was actually hurting. He was used to seeing Tony hide his emotions from others, he did the same thing himself after all, but having to look at Tony trying so very hard not to breakdown in front of him and Kate…

"Kate-"

"On it Gibbs," Kate grabbed her bag. "McGee and I can watch him tonight and follow Mr DiNozzo to the meeting tomorrow."

"No." Gibbs shouted as she was halfway out of the bullpen, handbag and coat already slung over her arm.

"No?" She walked back, looking confused, "But Gibbs he might warn Miller that we're on to him-"

Gibbs opened his mouth to explain why that didn't matter, but Tony beat him to it.

"Miller would know after he showed up here we'd talk to my father, it's another set up, right boss?" He slumped further in his chair, lifting both feet to rest them on the corner of his desk.

Gibbs watched DiNozzo reach into his draw and pull out and begin playing with an old Rubik's cube. Tony sensed him staring of course but in true DiNozzo style didn't let on. He continued to play with his toy for a further minute and a half while Gibbs waited patiently in silence. Kate only quiet because she was trying to figure out what the heck was going on. Tony eventually raised his head slightly to give Gibbs a minute nod to which he gave a sad proud smile in return.

"Bower's body being left for us was a message, Miller's not trying to hide the fact he's back in the States, he taunting us." Gibbs said to Kate without taking his eyes off of Tony.

Kate dropped her shoulders and perched on her desk.

"If that's true it means Tony's father-"

"I didn't tell him anything about what we know concerning Miller and Bower, and he didn't ask." Gibbs stated flatly.

"You believe him?" Tony asked without looking up from his toy.

Gibbs didn't - couldn't - answer. Tony got the message anyway he was sure. Silence descended upon the bullpen again only this time it was stuffy and oppressive and threaten to consume them.

"That's it." Gibbs called out, shutting down his computer, "everyone, go home. We'll pick this up again tomorrow."

The fact that nobody argued with him was a testament to how tired they all were. Kate stood up again, made a quick phone call and then walked over slapping a sticky note down on his desk.

"The names of the agents on protection detail tonight," she said, before grabbing her bag once more and walking out.

Gibbs heard her say goodnight to Tony as she passed his desk while he made calls to Abby, McGee and Ducky ordering them all to get some rest too. He'd inform security of the possible breach himself on the way out and get McGee going over every inch of footage first thing in the morning to ensure nothing had been compromised. Once done he picked up his own coat and walked over to stand in front Tony, who was still sat slumped at his own desk, the Rubik's cube having nowhere near one solid colour side than the last time he'd seen him play with it many months ago.

"Grab your gear DiNozzo you've got another night with me."

"Boss," Tony said with that inflection which changed the meaning from a simple form of address into something much more significant, "I'm not going to sleep tonight."

Gibbs smiled sadly down at him, noticing how young he looked all of a sudden. Maybe it was just the stark lamp light on his face, or the superimposed image of those morbid childhood pictures he had seen in Fornell's brown envelope that just wouldn't leave his head. He didn't know why, but right this moment with Tony looking up at him, his lost green eyes pleading with him to make it all okay, Gibbs could only see a six year old boy who desperately needed his help.

"Yeah, you will," he returned softly, "I'll get you sanding in my basement that usually gets you to sleep."

Tony laughed, a pink hue touching his cheeks. Gibbs allowed himself a small nostalgic smile at the memory, even though he felt unsettled. He was reaching way of his comfort zone now, something he rarely did for anyone, but after their very verbal argument in the car coming back from the crime scene, Gibbs knew he had some bridge building to do in case DiNozzo even considered making good on his threat to quit. He really didn't want that. In Tony he saw a lot of himself, before the bitterness of lost or failed marriages and politics took a lot of his joy away. He knew Tony would make a great team leader someday so long as Gibbs could keep him long enough to teach him everything he knew.

Gibbs tapped Tony's shoulder, indicating it was passed time to leave.

"I hope you're better company than last night." He said walking towards the elevator.

Tony stood wearily, putting the Rubik's cube away, and shrugging his backpack onto both shoulders.

"Thanks Boss," Tony whispered catching up to him just in time for the doors to open, "for everything, you've been great."

DiNozzo stepped on in front of him, averting his eyes. Gibbs just smiled and shook his head as he stepped on too and faced forward. Shy unassuming honesty was just another DiNozzo trait Gibbs was thankful for, even somewhat envious of to be truthful. His ability to let his guard down as and when it suited was astounding. Tony made it look almost easy to put himself out there and trust that whatever he shared wouldn't be used to hurt him, but Gibbs knew it took incredible courage to be vulnerable in front of others, especially for someone like Tony who went to great lengths to protect himself from anyone he didn't completely trust. Gibbs felt honoured that very early on DiNozzo had shown that he did trust him and he was proud of Tony for being able to trust so completely, he knew he struggled to do it. Being able to communicate his feelings to others, give them the trust that DiNozzo freely offered _him_, was one of the many reasons for his multiple failed marriages.

No, Gibbs wasn't blind to the fact that he wasn't the only one learning something in this oddly undefinable relationship they currently held. Having observed the many faces of Tony DiNozzo over the years Gibbs knew Tony had, however misguidedly, seen something worth liking in his bastard of a boss. From day one he'd been in his personal space, wanting to be Gibbs' centre of attention and that hadn't and probably wouldn't ever change. Gibbs had initially intended to curb that behaviour, but soon learned it was better to acquiesce to the role Tony had cast him and try and help Tony understand that no matter what happened or how many major mistakes he made Gibbs would always support him so long as he remained the trusting honest person he was clearly born to be.

It didn't take Gibbs long to discover who was responsible for making Tony doubt his worthiness to others. His father had put his son second, even before his wife's death, but once Mrs DiNozzo was gone there had been no one to look out for Tony, his entire view of social relationships had been shaped from what little he'd seen of his father, his dodgy business associates and the trail of step mothers. Gibbs didn't know how long it would take to teach DiNozzo that his father was wrong to treat him that way, but one thing he did know for sure was that this mess was going to be one major test of the faith Tony had in him. He was only ashamed that despite the many times Tony had declared he loved him, be it for saving his life or just bringing him pizza, Gibbs had never been able to say it back, at least not in words.

And now was no different. Gibbs could have said any number of things in reply to Tony's heart felt thank you. He could have reminded him of what he'd said a couple of months ago, that he really was irreplaceable. He could of told him that he cared and didn't want Tony to leave over this mess or because of Gibbs' hot head – though he knew that was an unlikely possibility, they'd long since passed the time where Gibbs' gruff treatment could hurt him, of that he was sure. But he didn't say anything. Instead Gibbs simply hoped his recent actions spoke louder than words could and that Tony would hold faith in him long enough to trust he could protect him and make this work out alright in the end.

…

Pulling up outside his house Gibbs had a quick sit rep with the agents on protection detail. Both had been briefed by Kate and reported no unusual activity since arriving. Satisfied, he pulled fully onto his driveway and both he and Tony walked into the house.

Gibbs once again broke from his usual routine and proceeded to lock the door behind them, he then went through the house securing all the windows, including the back door. Once the house was locked up like Fort Knox Gibbs returned to the living room to find Tony stood in front of the unlit fire, looking at a couple of framed photos on the mantel piece.

"You Okay?"

His query went unanswered and Gibbs didn't press him further. Tony had been silent the ride over, an extreme rarity in any circumstance, which left him with a dilemma. Did he push DiNozzo to talk about his father or leave him to the torment of his own mind? Watching Tony, looking so lost and desolate he was reminded once again of his promise to Abby. Tony was a very tactile person at the end of the day, though the kind of physical contact he was used to from him was a lot more painful than a hug, at the moment Gibbs didn't think Tony would push him away if he offered one. But what Tony needed right now was answers, not a cuddle. A hug was certainly not going to give him the truth that was for damn sure. On any other day Tony would freak if Gibbs tried to comfort him, if he so much as hinted at doing something nice Tony became instantly suspicious. Another neurosis constructed from his father's abandonment of him no doubt. Gibbs felt his anger from earlier build up again, but thinking about Senior drew Gibbs back to the issue at hand. The man seemed completely oblivious as to what was happening regarding his son, Miller and the whole kidnapping saga. Now thinking about it Gibbs wasn't sure if his desire to nail him on this was born more out of retribution for his abusive neglect of Tony in general and not necessarily because he was tied to the actual kidnapping.

The whole thing was giving him a headache Gibbs realised when a sudden pounding in his head made itself known. No wonder DiNozzo was quiet if this was what he was thinking about too, they probably both needed aspirin and a good night's sleep. Throwing his coat over a dinning chair and flicking on his coffee pot Gibbs opened the fridge to see if he had anything worth making for dinner, deciding to push everything out of his mind for tonight.

"Gibbs?" Tony's shy whisper, which barely reached his ears, had Gibbs looking at him over the top of the open fridge door, "What were you doing in '78?"

He watched Tony drop heavily onto the couch and stare straight ahead at nothing. Giving up on food Gibbs righted himself and shut the fridge door. Slowly walking over to the couch he sat down on the edge next to Tony, mimicking his head down, hands clasped position.

"Well I joined the core in '76," Gibbs said briefly, trying not to think about that year and the ones which followed with too much emotion.

Tony looked disappointed and Gibbs wasn't sure where he was going with this. Did he think knowing how close or how far away they were from each other, without realising it, would change something? That had their paths crossed earlier he could have somehow saved his six year old self from the hell he'd experienced?

"Kate's suggested I consider hypnotherapy to recover my memories." Gibbs looked at him questioningly, "I was on the roof. She followed me. We talked."

"About hypnotherapy?" He asked sceptically in response to Tony's clipped sentences.

The headache, combined with lack of sleep from last night and the already late hour was making it very hard for him to follow DiNozzo's usual convoluted train of thought. Adding heavy questions into the mix was not a good idea.

"She thinks it might help now if I remember what they wanted back then."

Against his gut instinct, Gibbs thought about it. He wanted to bark no way in hell and forbid Tony from letting anyone mess with his head, psychiatrist were a dangerous breed and letting one have full access was just opening up him for more hurt.

"What do you think?" He asked carefully instead, trying not to communicate his feelings one way or the other.

"I think I want answers." Tony answered vaguely.

Gibbs leaned back on the couch, the pounding in his head increasing tenfold at the soft admission. He was going to kill Kate in the morning.

"Tony, Fornell brought me a file." Gibbs sighed holding his head like it might split from his body.

If Tony _was_ going to consider it, he needed all the relevant information in order to make an informed decision. No matter how much he wanted to protect him from the truth, Tony would learn it eventually anyway, he always did.

"Was that why he was watching me sleep last night?" Tony said without missing a beat.

"I had to go back to the office," Gibbs looked over at him and Tony turned his head to meet his eyes. "Duck doesn't think you repressed the memories. You were given Ketamine."

"Ketamine?" Tony echoed, surprised, "but why?"

"Why do you think?" He shot back, unintentionally harsh.

Unfazed Tony appeared to consider the question thoughtfully and it didn't take long before Gibbs got an answer.

"I think that if I wanted someone to keep my secret," Tony sighed, "like a little kid who was always where he shouldn't be and couldn't be relied on to keep his mouth shut. I'd find a way to make him forget it."

Gibbs saw the effacing look on his face and tried to stop his train of thought before it was too late.

"DiNozzo, this was not your fault."

Tony chuckled self-depreciatingly.

"You don't really believe that do you, boss?"

Gibbs chose to ignore that and focus on the more important issue.

"Ducky thinks you may have seen something, something someone didn't want you telling anyone about."

"Always was sticking my nose in where it didn't belong." Gibbs hid his reaction upon hearing the same words Senior had used come out of Tony's mouth. "Had a recurring nightmare though, at least that's what they told me it was."

"They?" Gibbs asked with dread.

Tony's expression darkened then he paled, the heavy realisation of his family's involvement hitting him like a brick.

"My parents," Tony dropped his head until it was resting on his knees.

Gibbs sat helpless, not a feeling he was used to or comfortable with. In fact he was actually really mad at DiNozzo right now for making him care so damn much. Despite his conflicting feelings Gibbs reached out and rubbed his palm soothingly up and down Tony's back, hoping his mere presence would be enough to keep his kid's head on straight.

"You remember anything before you went to the park that day, something maybe involving Miller and your dad?" Gibbs asked continuing with the repetitive motion, moving his hand slowly up and down his spine when Tony didn't immediately shrug him off.

Tony remained with his head down for a few minutes before sitting up. Gibbs dropped his hand and waited, but in the end he came up empty.

"My memories are fuzzy Gibbs I don't even remember going to the damn park."

Deciding not to push any further, Gibbs forwent informing him of the other details Ducky had mentioned earlier concerning his time with the kidnappers.

"You still think you can't sleep?"

"Could you?" Tony huffed, looking glassy eyed.

Gibbs gazed over at his basement door, recalling his parting remark back in the bull pen and remembering it had only been a few months since Gibbs had learned a lot more than he'd bargained for about his own _very special_ agent.

Tony had been staying with him while his apartment was out of commission due to an exploding boiler and one night he'd become extremely restless after a case. Gibbs couldn't remember which one, but he did know instead of the usual quiet of three in the morning he'd endured music, pacing and a clattering in his kitchen. Eventually he'd surfaced from the basement to find out what the hell was going on.

"_DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked, slamming his hand down on the stereo, muting it._

"_Sorry Boss, did I wake you?" Tony looked up, but continued to empty his cupboards, looking for god knows what._

"_No, did I wake YOU?" Gibbs indicted the kitchen clock with his gaze._

"_Huh?" Tony caught on and looked embarrassed. "Oh, couldn't sleep."_

"_And you'd thought you'd what? Wake my neighbours and make pancakes?"_

_Tony looked guilty at the pan he'd relinquished from the cupboard, but said nothing, leading Gibbs to think there was more to Tony's late night roaming than he was willing to share._

"_Come on," Gibbs beckoned wearily, indicating Tony was to follow him down into the basement._

"_Gibbs, I can go back to bed really, I don't-"_

"_Shut up will ya DiNozzo and get over here."_

_Once in the basement Gibbs took both of Tony's hands and put sandpaper in one palm, placing it on the boat. Covering his hand with the other Gibbs demonstrated how Tony should sand. After a couple of assisted tries, Gibbs let him loose on his own. The kid had gotten pretty good until he started yawning. Gibbs had simply let Tony get comfy on the base of the boat, covering him with a blanket before continuing to work himself, eventually catching a couple hours sleep in the hard chair before they had to return to the office the next day._

"Boss?" Tony prodded his arm, knocking him clear out of the memory.

"Yeah?"

"You can go to bed, its fine. I'll watch TV."

Gibbs shook his head and motioned Tony to stand, DiNozzo knew damn well the only TV he owned was in the basement. As they walked toward the basement door Gibbs pointed at Tony's bandaged hand.

"Ducky's assistant do that?"

"Autopsy Gremlin," Tony nodded, quickly adding, "I mean… er, Palmer."

Gibbs smiled and made a mental note to thank the new kid as he flicked on the light before walking down the stairs. It would probably scare the life out of him if what he'd seen of him so far was anything to go by, but Ducky could handle that. Palmer was Ducky's to deal with after all, just like DiNozzo was his, but if he kept up the good work, Gibbs was sure Palmer would make an excellent addition to their extended team.

…

Tony sprang forward, a loud crashing noise jolting him awake. He frantically blinked, attempting to adjust his vision to the dark room. Once objects started to take shape it didn't take Tony long to realise he was alone and lying on Gibbs' living room couch, an old yellow blanket tucked neatly around him. Tony shivered, but not from the predawn chill. He hadn't had someone be so attentive to his needs since Wendy.

Pushing all thoughts of his failed engagement from his mind Tony glanced at his watch and took in the early hour. His last memory before falling asleep was of sanding in the basement and whereas it wouldn't be unusual for Gibbs to still be awake and working down there, the house was completely quiet. Since it appeared he had been sleeping on what was his boss's bed for all intents and purposes and knowing Gibbs wouldn't have left him alone despite him being no better company than last night it begged the question, where exactly was Gibbs?

Another crash sounded disrupting his thoughts and Tony shot up off the couch, grabbing his gun, running over to the bottom of the stairs.

"Gibbs?" Tony called out tentatively, unsure why Gibbs might be smashing up his own house, "Boss, you up there?"

Hearing no reply Tony decided he had to make a choice, either go and investigate, or return to the couch and hope Gibbs showed his face soon. Never one to sit around when there was something better to do he took to the stairs slowly. Leaving the Navy yard earlier he and Gibbs had swung by his apartment, mainly to check it hadn't been broken into or anything, but also to pick up some stuff since it looked like this situation wasn't going to be resolved anytime soon. They'd been very careful, ensured no one was staking out the place and no one had followed them to Gibbs' house. Of course that didn't mean it was entirely improbably that someone had followed them and had now broken in via an upstairs window. It worried him that Gibbs hadn't responded to the sound of either crashing sound, but nevertheless he kept moving forward, determined to prove to himself that no one who shouldn't be upstairs was and that Gibbs had simply gotten a cat or something and not told him.

When Tony reached the dark landing he reached for the light, but the switch failed to do anything but click. No lights.

_Okay Tony, what's next?_

He looked around and caught sight of the landing window. For the first time since waking Tony noticed the thunder storm raging outside, in fact rain hit the windows with such force it was entirely possible that was what the noise he'd heard.

Feeling much calmer he continued down the long hallway in the dark, looking in each room as he passed. The house seemed a lot bigger than he had thought, there were definitely more than the two bedrooms he remembered being up here. As he grew nearer to the room he usually stayed in when he stopped over Tony noticed the door was ajar and had a night light on. Suspicious he walked inside, pushing the door wide to reveal a small bedroom lit with sconces. Long flowing curtains blew inwards from an open window and a child size four poster bed sat in the centre of the room.

Tony stepped back in horror. Gibbs didn't have a room like this! Looking back along the hallway he didn't recognise it as the comfortable two story family home he'd grown accustomed to over the years. Instead Tony saw the large empty corridor that separated his childhood Louis XV themed bedroom from his parents' room in their Long Island estate. He barely remembered the place, his father having sold it after divorcing step mom number one, and couldn't fathom why he was seeing it in such clarity now.

Dreaming, he had to be dreaming. All he had to do was wake up. Tony blinked several times to try and dispel the image, adding more force to each blink, but still the vision in front of him remained as solid and real as ever. Giving up Tony took a breath and stepped into the room, taking a tentative look around. Noticing too late the broken glass decorating the floor near the window he cried out in pain when the sole of his left foot pressed down, the shards breaking through the rough skin sending droplets of blood pouring over the carpet. He staggered back shocked by the pain only to bump into a large floor length dressing mirror. Tony recoiled immediately when he saw that the image being reflected back at him wasn't of a man of thirty, but instead he saw a young boy with light brown floppy hair wearing Ferrari red t-shirt and shorts. Closing his eyes and taking several deep calming breaths Tony knew what he would see as soon as he reopened his eyes, but before he could rationalise that the image of the child in the mirror was actually _him_ Tony saw a shadow appear behind him in the mirror. Hand going to his hip, reaching for a gun that most certainly wasn't there anymore Tony spun around to face his would be attacker.

…

Gibbs was in his kitchen making himself a cup of tea and getting ready to hit the sack while DiNozzo slept soundlessly on his sofa. He had lasted all of ten minutes working on the boat before the sandman came for him and though Gibbs would never admit it, _to anyone_, he found it rather adorable that the simple repetitive act never failed in sending Tony off to sleep so efficiently.

Gibbs yawned and leaned heavily against his kitchen counter while he waited for the water to boil. After getting Tony settled Gibbs had decided against going back to his boat, he was tired and looking forward to some soundless sleep himself. Considering Tony's anxiety upon leaving NCIS earlier it was a miracle he was sleeping at all. Gibbs supposed it spoke to the trust Tony had in him to keep him safe tonight and made Gibbs feel like he had made the right call in keeping him close. Not that he had ever doubted his decision to protect Tony at his home instead of a safe house, but with Tony's hastily shouted threat to quit still haunting the back of his mind he could have easily seen this going a whole other way.

Pouring hot water over the tea bag Gibbs pondered on how DiNozzo always seemed to be the exception to nearly every rule he had. He hated people calling him Sir, yet Tony did it all the time when he wanted to wind him up, and mostly got away with it. 'Don't apologise it's a sign of weakness', how often had he heard the casually whispered 'sorry boss', usually preceding a headslap? Rule ten he knew he'd definitely broken on this case and if he tweaked the meaning even rule twelve. Gibbs had the rule about agents dating for good reason, it interfered with the job, and though he and DiNozzo were definitely _not_ dating, the level of caring was pretty damn close.

He didn't need it pointing out that his irrational behaviour at the Bower crime scene was unacceptable. So much was missed because he'd gone looking for Tony and ignored everything else. The argument in the car was part due to him being unable to rationalise his own actions. He'd already admitted to losing objectivity over the case, what he hadn't realised was it wasn't just this case.

The time Tony was kidnapped by the crazy waitress sprung to mind. Gibbs still blamed himself for what happened to Tony, despite knowing danger is a part of the job. He knew that last phone call would have haunted his dreams forever and after Tony was confirmed missing he had grown fearful of what he would do if they didn't get Tony back. Ducky had seen his worry and tried to console him, but Gibbs knew he wouldn't have been able to look over at Tony's desk and see someone else sat there in his place.

Picking up his mug Gibbs walked over to his kitchen window and gazed out into the early predawn light. There had been so many incidences like that over the past three years and if he'd learnt anything from those experiences it was that Tony had become like family to him, someone he didn't just care about, but loved like his own flesh and blood. The realisation sat heavily upon him, but he was beginning to understand why he found himself tip-toeing around Tony's feelings one minute and shouting bloody murder at him the next. The problem was, despite how he felt about the person involved, this was a case and all he should be doing was his job.

Before Gibbs could fully come to terms with what he knew he needed to do a loud scream suddenly emanated from his living room. Dropping his mug to the counter, sloshing hot water everywhere Gibbs ran towards the source of the sound.

The scream, which was deafening from the kitchen, morphed into a cry of pain by the time he reached the living room. Seeing Tony thrashing on the couch Gibbs leaped over to him, landing heavily on the solid wood floor and ignoring the pain in his knees he grabbed hold of Tony, lifting him, securing his thrashing body against his own.

"Tony, hey DiNozzo!" Gibbs shouted into his ear, shaking him by the shoulders when his voice alone didn't snap Tony out of his nightmare.

Several loud smacks on his front door alerted him to the presence of the agents outside, obviously having heard the screams coming from inside the house. Gibbs didn't waste another second, giving up on the softly, softly approach he pushed Tony back and slapped him hard over the head. He stilled immediately and fell silent, eyes flying open in sheer terror.

Gibbs stared at Tony and Tony stared back at Gibbs, both of them were panting heavily, taking gulping breaths of air liked they'd been chasing a suspect.

"Agent Gibbs?" A male voice shouted from somewhere outside.

Tony leaned forward nearly falling off the sofa and Gibbs held him steady by the shoulders, supporting him like one of the plinths under his boat.

Gibbs blinked, breaking eye contact, but not his grip he turned towards the door.

"Stand down." He called, forcing authority into his voice.

Listening for the agent's footsteps retreating before turning back Gibbs used the time to pull himself together and work out what he was going to say. Tony had dropped his head even further to hang between his shoulders, but remained still, sitting on the edge of the couch. Gibbs patted his arm and gradually pulled himself up from the floor to sit down next to him. He was prepared for a joke or a brush off, but the minute his butt hit the cushion Tony fell bodily into his side, tucking his head underneath his chin. Gibbs instinctively lifted his arms, closing them gingerly around the trembling body feeling each shallow breath as it impacted his neck and wondered what the hell he should do now.

He tried to speak several times, but got as far as opening his mouth before clamping his jaw shut again. He was a man of few words on a normal day and this situation required something more than he could offer or so he believed. Since words failed him he tighten his hold and with Tony wrapped around him, pressing so close he could feel his heart beating through his chest, Gibbs shuffled back relaxing into the cushions. Settling him on his chest he repeatedly ran one calloused hand across his back and through his hair. Gibbs heard Tony's irregular breathing slowly even out and resolutely continued with his ministrations, he was rewarded for his efforts by feeling the body on top of his eventually relax and go limp.

Sitting there, managing to comfort Tony by just being there he realised was wrong before when he thought all he should be doing now was his job, truth was he had bigger responsibilities here than NCIS and it was important he continued to live up to them.

As if sensing Gibbs had come to some sort of decision regarding the situation Tony pulled away. At first he sat quietly, balancing elbows on knees, head nestled within his palms hiding his face, then he abruptly stood up and putting as much distance as possible between them he paced to the furthest corner of the room.

"Where were you?" Tony asked with a quiver in his voice, keeping his back to Gibbs, "I woke up and there was someone upstairs, they…" panic sped up his breathing again, causing him to choke on his own words.

Though the honesty wasn't what he expected Gibbs was skilled enough to roll with whatever DiNozzo dished out.

"It was a nightmare." He responded as soon as Tony's voice choked off. "I've been here with you the whole time, I never left."

"A nightmare?" Tony asked him with more than a hint of desperation.

Gibbs winced, the tone was uncomfortable to listen to and he felt there was something more Tony knew that he was trying to avoid telling him.

"You okay Tony?" Gibbs asked him honestly, not moving from his seat.

He'd experienced Tony's nightmares before, doing the job they did, seeing dead bodies day after day what sane person wouldn't have a the odd bad dream? But this seemed different.

"It's not a big deal." Tony shrugged, turning around to face him. "People have nightmares, everyone dreams. I dream all the time. Don't always remember what I dream about. Don't always wake up screaming either, of course if I did wake up screaming I wouldn't tell anyone about it. For instance why would anyone want to know that I dreamt I was walking around your house, in the dark, thunder and lightning and then its suddenly not your house and I get a look at myself and I'm a little kid and someone grabs me and…"

"Hey," Gibbs clasped Tony's cheek, surprising him by sneaking up on him, "stop. You don't have to do this now."

Tony made a lame attempt to pull away and when Gibbs didn't yield settled for avoiding eye contact instead. It didn't matter, Gibbs could see the tears pooling in overly bright green eyes. He wasn't going to let Tony continue with his tirade. Sure he had concerns, and yes questions needed answering, but anything Tony told him right now would be tainted by tiredness and influenced by feelings too close to the surface. The details could wait until DiNozzo was in a better frame of mind and able to view his dream rationally. If it turned out he really was remembering something then they'd go from there.

On instinct Gibbs ran a hand through Tony's hair, pushing the sweaty fringe back off his face, and waited for Tony's breathing to even out again.

"I don't want to talk about it." Tony's muffled voiced stated adamantly as he swiped at his eyes.

"I didn't ask." Gibbs responded, guiding Tony back to the couch to lie down.

Too tired to bother with his by now stone cold tea Gibbs took the high road and risked Tony telling him to piss off. Without asking he sat down next to him and grabbing a pillow pulled Tony down to lie across his lap. Kicking off his shoes he hitched his feet on the coffee table and resumed running his hand threw Tony's hair and over his back until he drifted back to sleep.

…

The next morning came quickly, too quickly for Tony. He woke up with a pounding headache and the first thing he realised was his alarm hadn't gone off. Groaning he flipped out a hand to check the time on the digital clock next to his bed, but as he searched the area where the clock should have been he knocked something over, cold liquid swiftly covered his hand followed by the distinct sound of glass breaking.

"Easy," he heard Gibbs' voice say before he swam into view.

Tony lifted his head off the pillow and squinted blurrily at the glass lying broken on the floor beside the couch. An image in his mind overlapped the one his was seeing with his eyes and awareness returned in a crashing wave, sending Tony diving back into the couch burying his head in shame.

He remembered the broken window from his nightmare, feeling terrified, a pool of blood, someone making a grab for him, a knife and then… screaming, loud uncontrollable screams. Then being awake, realising none of it was real and cuddling Gibbs like some desperately out of control idiot.

_Shit Gibbs_, he couldn't face him, he really couldn't.

"It's just a glass DiNozzo," the man in question said plainly, quickly cleaning up the mess.

"Don't look at me," Tony mumbled face down into his pillow.

"Hey!" Gibbs slapped the back of his head, nearly suffocating him with the force.

"Boss please, it's awful!" Tony turned over to gasp in some air, flinging one arm over his face to offer a measure of protection.

"Murder is awful DiNozzo." Gibbs deadpanned, "getting a hug off me is rare. Ask Abby."

He'd really rather not, but it was good to know Gibbs had instantly understood his issue.

"It's embarrassing then." He whined.

A reply wasn't instant, and Tony remained still and blind listening for the tell-tale sound of Gibbs' shoes impacting the wooden floor. Tony jumped when Gibbs grabbed hold of his wrist, having not heard him approach, but he relaxed enough to let him remove the arm away from his face so he could see him.

"There's nothing embarrassing about feeling scared." Gibbs said kindly then added with a small smile, "even for a Very Special Agent."

Tony slowly lifted hooded lids to meet understanding blue eyes and relaxed. He was Very Special Agent Tony DiNozzo, he could deal with this. Nodding convincingly he was pleased to receive the light tap to his cheek before Gibbs walked away into the kitchen.

Sinking back into the pillows, not really ready to face the day yet Tony lifted his arm and looked at his watch. It was a little after eight. Clearly Gibbs had let him sleep in, but he guessed he didn't have long before he'd end up on the receiving end of a trademark Gibbs glare to get over himself and get moving. With great effort he hauled himself up and wandered away to the bathroom to wash and dress before heading back into NCIS.

…..

"Tony you look like hell." Kate greeted him as he and Gibbs entered the squad room.

"Thanks Kate, you look lovely too." Tony smiled at her, throwing his bag to the floor and himself into his chair.

Kate sneered at his sarcasm and Gibbs veered off, heading straight upstairs without a word to either of them. She watched Tony watch him go and subtly observed the two. After further inspection she determined Gibbs didn't look much better than Tony did. Both had black bags under their eyes, demonstrating how little sleep they'd each gotten last night. The question was, did Gibbs simply forego sleep in favour of working on the boat or did he have something else occupying his time last night? Of course by something, she actually meant someone.

"You're here?" McGee walked into the bull pen coming from the direction of Abby's lab and sat down at his desk.

He'd come in early to meet with Abby and go over the security footage so he had answers as to who dropped off the file yesterday as soon as Gibbs came in. Kate was impressed; it had taken her a lot longer to understand just what Gibbs expected out of each of them. Of course the only example she'd had was DiNozzo, who seemingly did nothing but act childishly throughout the day.

"Yep, I'm here bright and early." Tony slumped back, resting his feet on the edge of his desk without removing his coat and closed his eyes.

"Tony it's after nine and you-"

"-look like hell, yeah Kate's said that already," Tony dropped his feet and sat up, eyeballing them both, "thank you, both of you, but if you'd been having nightmares most the night, then you'd not look so hot either…"

McGee averted his gaze clearly not sure how to respond to Tony's outright honesty, but the profiler in Kate was in her element. Standing from behind her desk she stepped forward, speaking delicately.

"You know nightmares might relate to your forgotten memories, have you thought anymore about what we talked about yesterday?"

Tony didn't look up. Kate waited, but before she could speak again he unlocked his draw and took out the Rubik's cube he'd been playing with yesterday.

"Gibbs wasn't keen." Tony answered dismissively, still not making eye contact.

"Well it's not Gibbs' decision Tony it's yours." She pressed, closing what little space remained between her and his desk, snatching the toy out of his hands.

"That's mine." He snapped, standing and snatching it back.

Momentarily stunned by the edge to his tone Kate took a metaphorical step back while Tony retook his seat.

"Tony-"

"I'll think about it okay?" He interrupted her quickly, completely focused on twisting the cube.

"Okay," Kate shook her head, trying to dispel her confusion over his odd reaction and walked away.

…

Gibbs took a seat in the back row of a dark MTAC.

"How's the case going Gibbs?" Morrow asked as soon as he was settled.

"It's going." Gibbs stared at the screen.

Silence ruled for a couple of minutes while they watched agents take down a desert convoy. A round of applause rose up and then the screen blacked out.

"DiNozzo still holding up?" Morrow turned to him.

Gibbs' mind unwittingly conjured up the image of waking up with Tony still sleeping, lying across his lap this morning.

"Yeah, he's good." Gibbs forced a lighter than usual tone.

Morrow snorted.

"I saw him yesterday. Kids a wreck and you can't lie for shit right now Leroy."

Gibbs ducked his head, allowing himself a moment to put his game face back on. He should have known there was no fooling the Director of NCIS.

"Miller has a meeting with Tony's father this morning. I intend to be there." Gibbs resigned to sticking to the facts and providing an update on the case, his reason for being there after all.

Morrow didn't comment and for a moment Gibbs thought he could see the truth past the lie and was considering taking them off the case although.

"Keep me informed Agent Gibbs," he said in his Directorial tone, before adding much more softly, "and if there's anything I can do for Agent DiNozzo and your team, just ask."

"Thanks Tom," Gibbs nodded gratefully, quickly leaving MTAC before he could change his mind.

…

"What we got?" Gibbs demanded, swiftly entering the bullpen and taking a seat at his desk.

Surprisingly Tony stood up first, beating both Kate and McGee to the punch.

"I got in touch with the Adams House. It seems there's at least one upside to having the same name as the old man." He forced a jovial tone, but it fell flat. "He has reservations for brunch at eleven. I added two more to the party."

Gibbs levelled a glare at him.

"You want to do this?"

Tony immediately dropped the grin and looked around guardedly at McGee and Kate before answering.

"It's what this is all about isn't it? Miller wants to talk to me, better I do it on our terms than wait for him to find me."

"Tony-" Kate spoke up.

"It's fine. Isn't it, boss?" Tony snapped, glaring hard back at Gibbs and daring him to say it wasn't.

"You added two?" Gibbs checked seeing how determined he was.

Tony shrugged and his well held gaze was suddenly dropped to the floor before looking back up again, pleading smile now in place.

"If… you're okay with that?" He asked nervously causing Gibbs' heart to almost brake in two.

He gave a succinct nod, watching Tony return to his desk and then tilted his head at Kate, indicating she should follow him out of the bullpen. Gibbs waited inside the car for mere seconds before pressing the button, watching her jump between the closing doors.

"Gibbs, what-"

Kate cut herself off when Gibbs pulled the emergency stop.

"Tony said you talked to him about hypnosis."

Her stance bristled.

"Gibbs it's a valid form of therapy I just think-"

"You know someone you can trust?" Gibbs interrupted her before she could begin the lecture.

"Yeah" Kate answered, surprised.

"Call them."

He started the car again, the doors opened almost immediately and he stepped out back into the squad room.

"Gibbs, wait-"

"Kate, he needs to know," Gibbs snapped, turning back to face her, "and not just for the case."

…

"Did you know that's how I ended up talking to my first body?"

"Ducky," Tony visibly startled, "you scared the crap out of me."

"Not my intention I assure you," Ducky chuckled, walking away from behind Tony to the other side of the autopsy table. "Is there a reason Mr Bower is laying out on my table again?"

"I asked Jimmy to check something." Tony hinted, but said no more.

Ducky observed him, carefully examining every tick and frown line, taking in his closed off posture and clipped tone of voice, fitting the pieces together to form part of a puzzle.

"My boy, if there's something bothering you I can be a very understanding ear." He drawled, watching and waiting for Tony's reaction.

As Ducky hoped the young man that had made such an impression on his long-term friend the first time they'd met smiled and dropped his arms to his sides. A sign the M.E took to mean he was being let in.

"I had a nightmare last night." Shoving his hands in his pockets, head down, Tony walked away from the covered body of Craig Bower.

Ducky followed him, keeping up with his pace on the opposite side of the room.

"Gibbs thinks…" Tony swallowed, spun on his heels to gaze back fearfully at the body. "I dreamt I was abducted from my parent's home in Long Island."

His parent's home, not _his home_ Ducky noted the syntax. A nugget to store away for another time he predicted.

"I saw him, the man who grabbed me, he had a tattoo, right here," Tony bared the underside of his forearm, "it was a river."

"A river?" Ducky frowned.

"A couple of wavy lines," Tony corrected, pulling his sleeve back up and doing the cuff.

"Ahh, and does he?" Ducky nodded towards Bower's body, lying out just as cold and lifeless as the last time he'd seen him.

Tony shrugged and suddenly the uncharacteristic shyness he was witnessing made sense to Ducky. The previous times Tony had looked upon Bower's face he'd suffered an embarrassing nervous reaction that had, in his eyes, gotten him in trouble with Gibbs.

"Well then, let's take a look," Ducky pulled on a pair of gloves and walked over to the table holding Bower.

He could have told the lad all he had to do was ask, but knew Tony already knew that. What stopped him asking was his on-going battle of insecurity of course. Confidence came and left Tony in sporadic leaps and bounds, and even if Ducky could get through to him that he had secured a place in their life's, it would mean very little unless the one man Tony had decided to devote himself to, acknowledged that place too.

Pulling the sheet swiftly back Ducky noticed Tony flinch, but was proud of him for not turning away when he saw Bower's face. He wanted to offer some words of comfort, but knowing they'd be ill appreciated right now he kept them to himself, believing that Tony could still feel the sentiments even if they were never spoken allowed.

The boy looked over at him with hooded eyes and Ducky nodded encouragingly. Without further hesitation Tony picked up Bowers arm and looked underneath. His face paled and he dropped the arm, wrapping his own back around him in an instant.

Ducky reacted immediately and pulled Tony over to sit down at his desk. Fetching him a cup of water he returned just in time for Gibbs to walk through the doors. Handing over the cup Ducky caught Gibbs' enquiring gaze and shook his head discreetly.

"DiNozzo, it's time to go." Gibbs said with purpose, eyeing Ducky over the top of Tony's head as he stood to follow orders.

Ducky nodded his understanding to Gibbs communicating he'd explain as soon as he could and watched Jethro wrap one arm casually across Tony's back ushering him out into the elevator, an action that would normally have had the younger man smiling with delight. Tony's complete none reaction however spoke to his troubled mental state and that worried Ducky most of all.

As soon as the autopsy doors closed he moved as fast as he could over to the dead body of Mr Bower. Picking up the forearm Tony had dropped and looking underneath he saw exactly what he expected to. Absolutely nothing.

Ducky checked the other forearm just in case, but both where as he remembered from the autopsy, clear from ink of any kind.

…

Gibbs let Tony lead the way through the Adams House Hotel restaurant. They could see Senior was already seated, but Miller was nowhere in sight.

"Dad," Tony greeted him coolly at the table.

"When they told me they'd managed my request for a bigger table I knew you had something to do with it." Senior smiled, seemingly unsurprised to see them. "How are you junior?"

Gibbs watched Tony closely. He stood staring at his father with the same closed off expression he'd worn since leaving autopsy. Though Gibbs had no doubt under that very expensive suit and tie Tony was probably shaking like a leaf, he had every confidence he could do this.

"I'm fine." Tony answered tightly.

"Where's Miller?" Gibbs demanded, hoping he wouldn't have to drag this out longer than they had to.

"Late." Senior snapped, looking peeved. "I thought maybe you'd arrested him."

"Now why would we do that?" Gibbs teasingly replied taking a seat.

Tony uncharacteristically remained silent, and standing until Gibbs put the glare on him.

"Junior," Senior spoke while Gibbs and he eyed one another, "why don't you fetch us some drinks from the bar? I'll have my usual."

Gibbs saw Tony flinch like he'd been hit and thought for a moment he was going to do as he father ordered. He stared up at him, making it very clear whose orders he should be following and silently instructed him to sit.

"Actually Dad," Tony began, taking his seat, "we have something to discuss."

Gibbs could tell from his body language that he was speaking with a confidence he didn't feel. If they weren't careful this could all go to hell in a hand basket within the blink of an eye.

"Interesting," Senior sat back, gesturing with his hands, "so discuss."

"I think we'll wait for Mr Miller to join us." Gibbs interjected, keeping his eyes fixed on his target.

Gibbs could see the nervous tension rolling off Senior in waves. Something was bugging him. The younger DiNozzo he sensed wasn't doing so well either. Whatever confidence he'd built up to come here vanished the minute he clapped eyes on his father, a man he may have spoken to, but definitely hadn't seen in over ten years.

"If he's going to show," Senior responded nonchalantly, trying to catch the attention of a passing waitress.

"And why wouldn't he?" Tony asked immediately.

Gibbs heard the panic in his tone even if senior didn't and covertly placed one hand on Tony's jittery knee underneath the table. There was no way senior would miss the gesture, but Gibbs could really care less at the moment. It was important DiNozzo remained as calm and collect as possible otherwise this whole op would be a bust.

"Well, seeing you two sat here might send him running, especially if he knows you want to talk to him." Senior aimed his narrowed eyed gaze at Tony, "Tell me junior, what has he done that you and your boss here want to talk to him so badly?"

Gibbs narrowed his eyes at Senior, the man was good. Clearly the DiNozzo trait for subterfuge was genetic, there was no way this man had taken time out of his busy schedule to teach his son anything.

"Tony, go see if there's any sign of Miller outside," Gibbs sent him a glare when it looked like he might argue.

Tony stood, uttering a very subdued 'yes boss' before leaving the table.

"Gibbs you must tell me your secret." Senior leaned in once Tony was gone, "I could never get that boy to do anything I told him."

So many words went through Gibbs' head and he held in every last one of them. He deserved a friggin' medal. Luckily the waitress had finally come over to take senior's drink order, which ended up giving Gibbs a little extra time to compose himself and school his features.

"Mr DiNozzo I want you to tell me what really happened when Tony was six." He asked once she was gone.

"This again," senior huffed, "I thought I told you to leave it alone."

Gibbs looked to the heavens to give him strength, even the dumbest criminal would've have given up the rouse by now or at least made the connection.

"He knows Mr DiNozzo." Gibbs sighed out, seeing that he was going to have to come clean if he wanted to get any of the much needed answers he wanted.

"You told him?" Senior dropped the act, not doubt in panic.

"No." Gibbs shook his head.

Gibbs may have been the one to help fill in the details, but Bower and Miller had started all this off.

"Then who?" Senior demanded, slamming his fist down on the table rattling the recently placed scotch. "Miller?"

"What makes you think that?" Gibbs sent him a level look.

"You're asking questions about him." Senior shot back.

"You remember Craig Bower?"

"Of course I remember him. He hurt my son and don't even try to tell me he didn't." Senior pointed his finger at him and Gibbs only just resisted the urge to snap it off.

"Oh he had something to do with hurting him alright. In fact he tried again two days ago." Gibbs slapped a picture from the 7/11 down on the table. It was of Bower, gun in hand pushing Tony out the door. "He failed of course and then yesterday we found his body in a motel."

The temporary shock of hearing Bower had approached Tony again quickly faded from his face, but Gibbs saw it, no doubt. There was no mistaking that look of pure terror. It proved to Gibbs somewhere under all the bluster and bravado there was a father, just not enough of one to actively be there for his child when he needed him.

"That's no great loss to the world, I don't see how you think Henry could be involved though he-"

"I'm not finished." Gibbs growled, "Miller approached Tony at NCIS the same day Bower tried to take him, he apologised for Bower-"

"-Gibbs there's no way-"

"- Told him that he only wanted to talk, asked Tony to help him 'willing this time'. You wouldn't know anything about that would you?"

Senior was speechless and Gibbs remained silent.

"No sign of Miller boss." Tony reappeared.

Gibbs didn't break his glare from Senior as he stood from the table.

"I'm going to the head."

…

Tony sat down, nervously watching Gibbs leave without even a glance back in his direction.

"It's been a while." Senior drew his attention back to him.

The voice startled Tony, though he couldn't rightly say why. He was still on edge after what happened in autopsy, and sitting opposite his father after such a long absence wasn't helping his mental state any.

"Yeah, it has." Tony's leg jittered and he felt shame that he suddenly longed for Gibbs to return to offer a comforting hand of support.

How sad was it that sitting at the same table as his dad made him so nervous that he wished his boss was there to hold his hand. Tony would be the first to admit he had daddy issues, and mommy issues really, heck he had issues, point of fact. But he'd always done okay on his own. No one had held his hand when he'd be forced into boarding school. No one had looked out for him during his years fighting to get by at college. He'd earned his place on the police force the same way he did NCIS. He worked hard and people saw something in him worth keeping. He may not understand it himself, but if someone was willing to give him more than the time of day Tony was not going to snub it. Unless that person was his father of course, his dad only wanted to know him when it benefitted him.

His dad continued to look at him like he was a scheme that needed working and it made him very uncomfortable. Sweat gathered on his brow and Tony sort to wipe it away with a napkin. Granted it had been a very long time since he and his father had talked, even longer since they sat down together, but he'd never felt quite this exposed before. Something else must be wrong. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

He thought of Gibbs, he thought of his dream last night, he thought of falling asleep knowing he wasn't alone… he thought…he was falling apart.

"You alright, Junior?"

Tony snapped his head up with a crack, not realising he'd nearly face planted the table. Surprisingly the concern from his father actually sounded genuine.

"I'm fine," Tony coughed and cleared his throat. "Why?"

"Your agent Gibbs just told me about you knowing…"

"Knowing what dad?" Tony's voice was laced with sarcasm, "you mean about when I was six and I was apparently beaten and held for ransom, yeah I found out about that. Your good buddy Miller actually apologised for sending his lackey after me a second time, only I think that's only because the idiot failed in his assigned task."

"What have you told him about Miller?" Senior groused, any hint of concern gone like a leaf in the wind.

"Did you talk to Miller yesterday after speaking with Agent Gibbs?"

Tony bypassed his dad's question and senior saw fit to do the same to him.

"Henry was good to you, you owe him a lot."

"What exactly do I owe him dad?" Tony asked with a hint of contempt, falling for his dad's trap without realising. "By all accounts he was the one who kidnapped me twenty-five years ago and he's trying to do it again!"

"I don't believe it." Senior shook his head in firm denial.

"Believe it." Tony sat straight, not wanting or willing to listen to any more of his dad's excuses.

"Anthony, come on, your imagination has always been a little out there. Isn't it possible you misunderstood?"

"Misunderstood?" Tony repeated, incredulous.

"Well you said yourself you don't fully remember what happened all those years ago-"

"How could I understand if you never told me?" Tony challenged, glaring at the man who claimed to be his father, but right now Tony saw no resemblance. "They gave me ketamine Dad! And now for some reason I'm having memory issues, go figure."

"Lower your voice Anthony." Senior chastised through gritted teeth, smiling at the few diners whose attention had been drawn by Tony's outburst.

"Why did you lie in the police report?" He calmed as much as he could, knowing he was blowing it, but strangely not caring.

It was clear Miller wasn't going to show and Tony wasn't willing to let this opportunity to interrogate his father pass him by, he'd waited too damn long.

"I didn't lie." Senior huffed impatiently, making it very clear he was tired of the questioning.

Tony laughed at his father's audacity to lie to his face. Not because he was his son, no Tony expected lies and deceit every time they talked, he usually let it slide. But this time he was lying to a federal agent about an active case and if Senior thought he could get away with that without being challenged then he had another thing coming.

"I may not recall everything" Tony started with false calm, "but I know there's no way in hell we were in the park together on a Friday afternoon."

"Look Junior, I don't know what you're accusing me of but I-"

"Dad, I know alright, just tell me the truth." Tony sighed, getting fed up with the chase.

Senior looked pained, Tony couldn't believe his eyes when he saw him slump down in his seat looking defeated.

"I'm sorry, but your mother and I thought it best we pretend like it didn't happen." Senior spoke so calmly that it was almost Tony's undoing. "School had finished, it was the holiday weekend. Your mother was out with her friends and the nanny hadn't shown up. I had somewhere else to be but I couldn't take you with me…"

"Your mistress?" Tony smarted, slightly disappointed when all his father did was continue with his tale.

"So I put you to bed and left you at the house." He gave the final blow.

Tony cleared his throat after trying several times to find his voice.

"You left me," he paused, struggled to speak and started again, "you left a six old child home alone."

Senior nodded, Tony was still trying to understand how a parent did that.

"When I came home late and your mother asked me where you were I felt terrible."

"_You_ felt terrible?" He exploded.

"It was an error in judgement."

He wanted to shout at the man for his utter stupidity, ask him why he hadn't loved him enough to protect and care for him like other parents did their children.

"Did you know Miller was involved?" He asked instead, knowing asking anything else was either pointless or could have him bailing like that six year old kid he once was.

"Junior I have no idea what's happening now, but he wasn't the one who took you!"

Gibbs returned just as Tony was reining in his temper. He looked to his boss, hoping his arrival meant this horrible conversation was over, the question clear in his eyes, but received a slightly more hesitant look than he was expecting. Instead of the expected nod that they'd got what they needed, Gibbs gave Tony a sad smile that sent his heart dropping down into his stomach.

"Mr DiNozzo, where were you yesterday afternoon, between four and six?" Gibbs stood before senior, expression the grimmest Tony had ever seen.

"Why? What happened yesterday afternoon?"

"Craig Bower was murdered."

"And you think I had something to do with it?" Senior laughed, but Tony began to panic.

Gibbs pulled out his cuffs as a threat, holding his arm out indicating senior was to stand under his own steam or Gibbs would be making him stand.

"You're going to have to come in, answer some questions."

"I will not." Senior shouted in outrage.

Tony looked around, the hotel staff and restaurant guests were all looking their way now and normally he'd be flashing his badge, looking all professional and enjoying the limelight while he assured the public they had nothing to be concerned about. However on this occasion he found he was indeed very concerned and unable to stand from his seat. This was not how his plan was supposed to go.

Tony looked up at his boss, hoping he would explain what was going on, but Gibbs didn't comply.

"Mr DiNozzo, we can do this quietly or with the cuffs." He heard Gibbs say to his Dad.

Senior quieten and Tony knew he'd chosen the first option.


	6. Chapter 6

McGee was sitting in the back of the surveillance van, head set on, when Gibbs opened the door and jumped inside. He acknowledged him with a quick nod, but kept his focus on listening into the strained conversation going on between the estranged father and son. The tense pauses, the slight edge to DiNozzo's voice and utter arrogance of Senior's reminded McGee of conversations with his own father.

McGee winced at the thought. Having a conversation with the Admiral was bad enough, having a conversation with him while Gibbs and his teammates were listening in? He couldn't imagine. Physically shaking the very scary thought out of his head McGee resolved to get his mind off his own flawed paternal relationship and focus on the one inside the restaurant across the street. A few more tense words were exchanged then Tony's incredulous shout suddenly exploded in his ears.

McGee jerked back in his seat, the volume sending a shriek of interference from the bug on DiNozzo's jacket through to his headset. Gibbs gave him a curious look, but instead of explaining McGee unplugged the headset, switching the feeds so Tony's loud angry voice filled the van.

"_They gave me ketamine Dad! And now for some reason I'm having memory issues, go figure." _

"_Lower your voice Anthony." _

McGee held his breath upon hearing Gibbs' growl of disapproval next to him. Whether it was because Tony was yelling at his dad instead of getting information on Miller or for Senior's lack of caring to Tony's distress was unclear. What was clear was the beat of silence that followed Senior's hiss of chastisement, it went on so long McGee wasn't sure if Tony was still in the hotel, let alone at the table, but then DiNozzo's toneless reply echoed over the speakers.

"_Why did you lie in the police report?" _

"Not yet DiNozzo," Gibbs whispered, only to follow it up with a dejected sigh when Tony laughed off his father's denial and continued to push the issue.

"_I may not recall everything, but I know there's no way in hell we were in the park together on a Friday afternoon."_

McGee swallowed, trying to keep as still as possible in hopes Gibbs would forget he was even there. Tony hadn't said anything to him about being sure that part of the report was false and by the steam coming out of Gibbs' ears he guessed Tony hadn't mentioned it to him either. McGee quickly debated whether to say something or not and decided on not. He was still struggling to find his confidence when speaking to Gibbs on a one to one level like he'd seen Kate often do and given that he couldn't offer much than a platitude, which he was sure would be rebuffed as quickly as it could be uttered, it was better if he just kept it shut for now.

The conversation in the restaurant continued to decline and McGee's worry for DiNozzo upped several notches in as many minutes. Though they were getting some truth on _how_ Tony originally went missing, the whole point of this meeting was to get senior to spill about Miller's role, not his own.

"Think this will work boss?" McGee sideway glanced at Gibbs.

"If it doesn't I'm going to need to buy another sofa." Gibbs muttered back.

McGee frowned, not understanding the obscure reply.

"But you still think Miller is going to show though, right?" He checked, sensing there was something he was missing.

"Tony knows what he needs to do." Gibbs replied in the same vein as before, only this time with a little more confidence.

Tony had clearly bypassed the subject of Miller in favour of grilling his father and now the plan they'd started with wasn't going to be brought to fruition, but McGee's phone started to vibrate on the van's console before he could point that out to Gibbs. Reaching for his cell McGee hoped the boss had a backup plan because he'd actually miss the childish teasing if DiNozzo wasn't around to dish it out. Normally people took one look at him and decided he was too young to know anything, and therefore not worth respecting, but with DiNozzo in the room chronologic age wasn't even an issue, McGee knew he won in the maturity stakes hands down. For once it was really nice not being seen as the 'kid' all the time.

"Abby you alright?" McGee shouted over the tinny base music travelling down the line after he put it on speaker.

"_McGee! Is Gibbs there?"_

"Here Abby," Gibbs gripped the back of McGee's chair leaning in to be nearer to the phone, "what you got, make it quick."

"_Is Tony okay?"_

"Abby!" Gibbs shouted down McGee's ear, making him jump.

"_Gibbs, don't yell!"_ McGee involuntary winced despite knowing Abby was probably the only one of them able to talk to Gibbs like that without being headslapped, _"I got a print from the hotel room where Bower was found…"_

"And?"

"_Gibbs it was a match to Tony's father."_ She finished sadly.

McGee's hands stilled over the console where he had been adjusting the volume of DiNozzo's bug and slowly closed his eyes. Just when he thought things couldn't get much worse for his irritating partner. Gibbs had the opposite reaction to hearing the news. McGee heard and felt him push away from his chair, punching the van wall behind him.

"Thanks Abby." McGee said solemnly and hung up. Turning his head to Gibbs he said, "Boss-"

"Don't say it McGee." Gibbs sighed, standing with his back to him.

"What if this was Miller's plan along?" McGee dredged up confidence from somewhere. "He arranged a meeting with Mr DiNozzo knowing we'd talk to him and he'd tell us. We already know Bower's crime scene was a set-up, what if this was too?"

His next suggestion would be that Mr DiNozzo's finger prints were planted, but he didn't know if he was thinking as an agent or a friend with that one, knowing no matter what his relationship with his own father, he wouldn't want to think him capable of murder. With him looking like he might get hit and Gibbs like he was considering it, McGee was unwilling to break the wide eyed stare he currently aimed his way.

"Kate?" Gibbs picked up a headset and called into its microphone, all without breaking the glare he held on McGee.

"_No sighting yet Gibbs."_

"There won't be." Gibbs' eyes softened ever so slightly, adding a small nod which McGee took as acknowledgement that he trusted his judgement.

"_Gibbs?"_

"Secure eyes on Tony, I'm coming in." Gibbs leaned onto the console, removed the pen clipped to McGee's shirt and quickly scribbled a note.

McGee watched Gibbs finish writing, fold it and slip it into his top pocket. He then opened the door and jump out slamming it behind him without a word. Turning back to the console McGee plugged the headset back in and slipped it on, ready to stop the recording and transfer a copy to Abby as quickly as possible.

…..

After the surprise at the table Tony followed Gibbs out, keeping a few steps behind as they escorted his father through the elaborate lobby of the Adams house. Reaching the other side of the revolving doors Tony widened the gap slightly, hanging back to stand and watch while Gibbs frog marched his dad to the sedan already waiting kerbside.

Once the summer sun hit his face, reminding him that the day was nowhere near over, Tony found himself almost paralysed. The warmth was such a contrast to the artificial environment of the air conditioned restaurant, it brought home just how real everything was and he simply didn't want to take another step, not knowing what other surprises lay ahead.

Looking over he could see Kate stood by the now open rear door of the car as Gibbs approached, both were focused on his father and no one had noticed he wasn't there with them. Watching them he pondered on the almost Kubrick surrealism of the situation. Tony had the sudden insane idea to disappear, runaway to the nearest beach and live like a bum for a few months until things sorted themselves out. It could work. At least until Miller caught up with him, and put in motion whatever revenge plan he had in mind. Tony was becoming more and more convinced that was what this was all about, revenge for something his father had done or was going to do. Didn't matter really, Tony had always known his father would be the cause of his eventual demise, like a prophecy waiting to be fulfilled. Growing up he had eventually gotten to the point where he hoped his father wouldn't make it to his game or graduation. Whenever good old Senior turned up Tony couldn't focus, was easily distracted and a general basket case. This time being no exception.

Recognising that his thoughts where doing nothing to help his current mood and only intensified his desire to runaway Tony looked over at the car again to see what was taking so long. Gibbs was still talking to Kate, who seemed unhappy with whatever the boss was telling her and his father was trying to pretend like he wasn't listening to them. Tony felt himself tense and couldn't help the instinctive reaction to stand straighter and pay attention to what was going on. Before he could work up the nerve to walk over and see what the problem was Gibbs pushed his father into the backseat of the car. Travelling around front to take his place as driver, Kate only just shutting the passenger-side door before Gibbs sped away, leaving nothing behind but him and the smell of burning rubber.

Before panic could set in at being left behind Tony's cell rang immediately.

"You draw the short straw?" Tony mustered up enough enthusiasm to not sound too pathetic as he answered to the Probie.

"_Gibbs wanted to drive in with your dad alone."_ McGee offered lamely, showing up behind him seconds later.

Tony turned around and closed his cell, McGee mirrored his action. Gibbs had clearly told him to make out that had been the plan all along and not a last minute arrangement because Tony had frozen and couldn't take another step towards the damn car.

"Gibbs sent you to fetch me?" Tony plastered on a fake smile and forced himself to relax.

Unfortunately relaxing was not on the cards and Tony found himself slumping against the nearest wall, unable to support his own weight any longer. Shifting restlessly, he probably looked more like an addict needing a fix than a federal agent, but he didn't much care. He was too busy trying to separate his anger with Gibbs for making him ride back with the Probie, from his hurt feelings of utter abandonment to care less about what anyone else was thinking of him right now. For those that knew Tony well enough, him no longer caring what others thought of him was a massive warning sign that something was very, very wrong, but McGee had only known him a few months and therefore Tony knew he was on his own until they got back to the navy yard and the familiar safety of those orange walls.

"Van's still parked round the corner." McGee bounced, looking uncomfortable and concerned by Tony's constant shifting and nervous shaking, but as predicted, at a loss about what to do about it.

"Great." Tony muttered to the sidewalk.

Giving up on trying to remain calm and keep still he took off in the direction McGee had pointed, only to stop by a decorative fountain in the square just a stone's throw from the van. Tony shivered and looked up at the blue sky, checking the sun was still shining. The heat he'd felt minutes early had disappeared, leaving him chilled and empty.

"Tony?" McGee's voice travelled to him, lost as he was in his thoughts.

Snapping his head back, blinking the black sun spots out of his vision, Tony focused on his surroundings for the first time since exiting the hotel.

"Ever wished things could be different?" He asked distantly, lowering himself to sit on the low stone wall surrounding the pooling water.

"Do you?" McGee shot back, outright panic in his tone.

Tony chuckled softly, the Probie was stressed again!

"McGee," he sighed, "there were some hot chicks in that store when Bower barged in. If things had worked out differently we would've been double dating this weekend."

His tone remained less than cheery, but the small stunned smile on McGee's face at the idea he'd even consider double dating with him was worth a thousand smacks to the head.

….

McGee had just got off the phone with Abby when Tony jumped into the passenger seat of the van, slamming the door behind him. He'd left him alone for a few minutes by the fountain, seeing he needed to pull himself together before heading back.

"Tony you don't look so good." McGee told him as Tony slumped in the seat and covered his face with both hands.

"Gibbs just arrested my father! How am I supposed to look probie?"

McGee bit his lip, gone was vulnerable contemplative Tony, welcomed back was snippy unbearable Tony. Torn between setting his mind at ease with what Abby had just told him and facing the boss's wrath McGee decided to put Tony first and suffer the consequences. Gibbs hadn't said anything explicit when he'd stormed out of the van earlier, but McGee was pretty sure he didn't want Tony knowing anything until _he_ could speak to him. However, looking over at Tony now, he didn't think waiting was the best move.

"Maybe it'll be okay." He suggested lightly, "it might not be what you think..."

McGee should have known his acting limits, even he could tell from his tone he was hiding something, there was no way Tony wouldn't pick up on it too.

"What might not be what I think, McSecretive?" Tony pinned him with a Gibbs worthy glare.

McGee hesitated, he could feel the sweat building up on his forehead at thought of what the boss would do to him when he found out he'd spilled to Tony.

"Abby called, confirmed a theory I had. We're trying to trace recent cell contact your Dad had with Miller through proxy servers and triangulate locations, but we're having trouble penetrating the firewall at ah-"

"Probie!" Tony frantically waved his hands in the air as if in surrender, "while you know I usually love to take the mick out of you for this stuff, do you think, maybe, just this once, you can get to the point?"

"Sure." McGee swallowed. "We think Miller set your Dad up, and us."

"The meeting was a set up?" Tony repeated dumbly.

"Possibly," McGee nodded, waiting pensively for a response while watching Tony gaze silently out the front windshield. "Bower's crime scene too, Abby found your Dad's finger prints on a scotch glass but nowhere else... Miller may have planted the evidence."

"And Gibbs knows this?" He asked removing a scrunched up piece of paper from his breast pocket, examining it.

"Yeah Tony, he knows." McGee nodded nervously.

Tony relaxed into the seat.

"Huh."

McGee frowned, he'd been expecting a different reaction, more yelling maybe. He leaned over and tried to see what was on the paper Tony held, it looked like the note Gibbs had scribbled before leaving the van. McGee read it, but not understanding committed the words to memory to ask Abby later. When it became clear Tony didn't notice what he'd done McGee thought maybe he'd just made a huge mistake. Having prepared himself for name calling and maybe some profanity, the quiet staring was just unnerving. So when Tony eventually did speak, turning in his seat to look at him, McGee was surprised by what he heard.

"You did all that in the five minutes I was in the restaurant?"

….

"You have no right to hold me Agent Gibbs." Senior spoke as soon as he stepped into interrogation.

Gibbs paused in the doorway coffee and evidence file in hand, gripping the handle so tight his knuckles went white. Despite the unceremonious manner in which he was removed from the hotel Mr DiNozzo sat with his feet resting on the corner of the desk, smug smile lighting his face like he hadn't a care in the world. Gibbs seethed at his complete arrogance. Considering they'd informed him his son was at the centre of attempted kidnap and murder investigation, Senior looked positively giddy.

Tempering down his own concern, which had trebled since hearing Ducky's theories on the original kidnapping yesterday and experiencing Tony's nightmare episode last night, Gibbs put his game face on. This wasn't DiNozzo's bastard of a father he was about to interrogate, this was just another suspect who was hiding information from them.

Ready to get the answers they so desperately needed Gibbs slowly shut the door and approached the desk, putting his coffee down first before knocking Senior's feet to the floor.

"Where were you yesterday afternoon Mr DiNozzo?" He folded his hands together on the table.

"I was entertaining." DiNozzo said with a sly look at Gibbs.

"Anyone who can vouch for you?" Gibbs didn't even bother looking up from the papers now gathered in a pile in front of him.

"Give me an alibi you mean?" Senior chuckled, his confidence asserting itself.

Seconds passed in deadly silence and Gibbs could sense Senior's building unease while he glared at him, but the misleading smile was soon back on his face.

"Well I don't normally kiss and tell, but in this case..." Senior wrote down a name and number with the pen Gibbs handed him. "I didn't kill anyone." He said bluntly handing over the paper.

Gibbs slid it off the desk without looking and put the name in his jacket pocket.

"You want to explain this then?" Gibbs tossed the finger print evidence Abby had matched from the motel room, along with pictures of the crime scene in front of Mr DiNozzo, studying his reaction very carefully.

"I was there, Wednesday morning," Senior exclaimed, rolling his eyes as if only just now realising he'd been played. "But I wasn't visiting Bower."

"Who?" Gibbs sat back and folded his arms.

Senior slumped back in his seat, all pretence of having the upper hand gone.

"Henry Miller."

Gibbs narrowed his eyes.

"You met Miller at _this_ motel?"

"I know what you're thinking, but I didn't lie to you the other day when you asked if I knew where he was." Senior blanched at the unrelenting glare being aimed his way, but Gibbs was too pissed to be satisfied with victory, "When you asked I really didn't."

Gibbs nodded, a smile teasing at his lips as he leaned over the desk.

"You will tell me, everything…"

His low menacing tone was enough to get Senior near wetting his pants.

"Look when I found out Henry was back in the states I became concerned, given our history…" Senior looked to him for understanding and Gibbs rolled his eyes, but refrained from comment. "He contacted me, wanted to talk about what happened when he left the country. We arranged to meet at the motel."

Gibbs ground his teeth, trying very hard to keep both hands fixed firmly to his side and not have them end up in Senior's mouth.

"YOU rented the motel room?"

"Yes, and I checked out the minute Miller left." Senior pointed at the picture of Bower dead in the bathroom, "I assure you Gibbs there was no corpse on the toilet."

"What did he tell you?" Gibbs asked with great restraint.

"When I spoke to Henry he knew things, where Anthony lived, worked, who his friends are… he even knows about you Agent Gibbs." Senior's lips curled.

"Why didn't you call Tony, warn him?" Gibbs demanded to know, ignoring the increasing desire to use his fists instead of his words.

"What was I supposed to say?" Senior bit off, annoyed by Gibbs' implied accusation. "As far as I was concerned Anthony didn't know about what happened to him and I wanted to keep it that way. If you hadn't stuck your nose in, he still wouldn't!"

Gibbs dropped his head, astounded at the utter stupidity of this man.

"Why didn't you tell us this sooner?!" Gibbs sprang up, leaned over the table and yelled in senior's face.

"I was protecting Tony-"

"No you were protecting yourself!" Gibbs shot back. "The only reason Miller hasn't got Tony right now is because we've been protecting him, all you've done is waste our time while we could have been on Miller two days ago!"

"He wouldn't do anything to harm him, he-"

"What makes you think a man you haven't seen in the last twenty years can be trusted?!" Gibbs shouted literally seething. "What really happened the night Tony was taken Mr DiNozzo?"

Senior shifted in his seat, sighing wearily, having finally lost the smug smile he'd been sporting since they first met in the bar yesterday.

"It's complicated." He muttered, avoiding eye contact.

"Well uncomplicated it!" Gibbs hit the table with his fist, his anger reasserting itself.

"It's not that simple," Senior's eyes travelled briefly up to meet his before darting away again.

Fingers' itching to do damage Gibbs was unable to hold it in any longer and lashed out. Grabbing and crushing the coffee cup left on the table, sending what was left of the cold brew flowing over his fingers. Gibbs threw the crushed carton into the corner before storming out.

…

"Boss!" McGee ran out of the observation room to meet Gibbs calming down in the hallway. "Balboa, Hicks and Sutton are on their way back from Henry Miller's old house in Long Island."

"They find something?" Gibbs barked, nodding decisively at another agent waiting nearby to stand guard outside the interrogation room.

"No." McGee chased Gibbs down the corridor, cutting himself off in the face of Gibbs' unimpressed glare. "Um, but something found them. The FBI have the house under surveillance."

Gibbs came to a dead halt in the corridor and stared at the blank orange wall in front of him, not even acknowledging McGee's apology as he wiped what remained of the coffee off his hands onto his pants. After a further minute's quiet contemplation Gibbs was storming the bullpen, McGee close on his heels.

"Tell me we have something on Miller." He bellowed at his other two agents, angrier than all hell.

"What happened?" Kate jumped up in her seat, looking worriedly at Gibbs as if he was on the verge of a homicidal rampage.

Gibbs couldn't argue with that assessment and simply turned his glare on McGee, who after being momentarily startled with the ferocity, bought a clue fairly quickly.

"Erm… Mr DiNozzo admitted to being in the motel two days ago," McGee rushed out with only a slight stutter, "but, er he was meeting Miller not Bower."

"Two days?" Kate exclaimed, "That'll be the same day Bower came after Tony in the 7/11."

"He claims to have an alibi for the time of Bowers murder too…"

Kate was so stunned that for once she had no comment to make, unlike the agent sat opposite her.

"Yep, that's my father, just when you think you have his number, boom." Tony used hand actions to emphasis his point.

However it was the small, but audible chuckle following his statement that had Gibbs spinning around on the spot. Completely nonplussed by the death looks he was sending his way Tony merely smirked back and continued to play with the Rubik's cube, just like he'd done the day before. Gibbs really wanted to headslap him, but held off since it would serve no purpose. Instead he turned on his newest two agents.

Kate jumped first.

"I'll check out the alibi."

Gibbs handed her the name then turned to McGee.

"I'll find Miller!"

When McGee ran off like a startled rabbit, Gibbs stepped around his desk.

"And I want Fornell here right now!" He yelled to anyone who was still listening.

"Jethro. Didn't know you cared." Fornell appeared in the bullpen as if Gibbs' shout had somehow summoned him.

The two stared at each other over Gibbs's desk until it was mutually decided by a series of grunts and glares to retire to their usual conference room, Gibbs leading the way. The elevator was pulled to a halt the minute the doors shut.

"What were you doing at the Adams House?" Fornell demanded, surprising Gibbs with his bluntness.

"Arresting DiNozzo's father. What are the FBI doing staking out Miller's old house?" Gibbs turned the tables on Fornell, gaging his reaction.

"You've arrested him, for what?" Fornell completely ignored him.

He'd kill Fornell right now if he discovered the FBI had known about any of this and had purposefully kept him in the dark in order to use his Agent as some sort of bate.

"None of your business," Gibbs groused, "now answer my damn question!"

Fornell looked guilty. Gibbs glared harder.

"Hey don't shoot the messenger I only just found out myself." Fornell held his hands up in surrender, "I was working on the back ground info like you asked. Certain channels were being blocked so I dug further. Turns out the FBI are unofficially looking for Miller."

"Why?"

"I'm still trying to get the details, but I can tell you this, it isn't cut and dry." Gibbs continued to glare, but all Fornell did was shrug.

"That's it, that's all you know? You came all the way over here to tell me you have nothing?"

"No I came here to tell you to watch your back." Fornell snapped. "Your boy's father is under surveillance. And whoever it is calling the shots has higher clearance than I do."

"This is a mess." Gibbs dropped his shoulders, showing a rare moment of vulnerability.

"You got that right." Fornell nodded uncomfortably.

Gibbs ran a hand through his hair, turning his back on Fornell. Trying to pace in the small space was near impossible, but he was doing his best to increase the distance between them.

"Get me that information." He growled with finality.

Recognising there was very little he could do about any of this right now he started the elevator and took them back up to the squad room. The doors opened within seconds and Gibbs stepped out.

"I'm working on it." Fornell assured quietly, thankfully not mentioning the fact he look set to fall apart.

"Well work harder." He threw over his shoulder as the doors closed taking Fornell back downstairs.

…

Gibbs walked back into the bullpen with far more ease than he felt after that conversation, but he knew it was important for the team to see him in control.

"Tony went to the rest room." Kate spoke, having caught him looking around for their missing team member. "He wasn't looking so good."

"No. Don't suppose he was." Gibbs dismissed and cleared his throat. "What we got?"

"Mr DiNozzo's alibi checks out." Kate announced bringing the details up on the plasma.

Gibbs walked slowly up to the screen, surprised she'd managed it so quickly.

"The woman he was with the night we picked him, she looked… well, professional so I followed a hunch to find our lovely Ms Fabrice Von-Houghton and it paid off." Kate announced as if reading his mind. "She also goes by the name Scarlet Fever, but her real name is Mandy Tate."

"She talk to you?" Gibbs asked perusing the various images on screen.

"Yeah, apparently Mr DiNozzo wasn't a good tipper." Kate smiled, "But I also had to e-sign an affidavit agreeing not to pursue her in any separate case or prosecution."

"Affidavit?" McGee repeated, overhearing the conversation and coming up on Gibbs' left.

"She's a legal secretary by day and professional escort at night." Kate clicked onto the next page, which was an advertisement for her evening profession.

"Sounds and looks like Tony's dream woman." McGee said wistfully.

"I know," Kate agreed with too much excitement, "I've already hidden her number."

Sensing this could go on Gibbs cleared his throat.

"Sorry Gibbs," Kate coughed, "She confirms Mr DiNozzo was with her all afternoon, until we came for him last night…"

"Hotel cameras have him sitting in the bar during the time of the murder boss." McGee took the clicker from Kate, showing the image from the camera on screen.

"Good job." Gibbs was disappointed, but not surprised.

Senior maybe many things, but he sensed above anything else he was more talk than action. In fact Gibbs would be surprised if Mr DiNozzo had ever accomplished anything in his life. Aside from Tony he doubted he had nothing to show for his sixty plus years on the planet.

"Actually it was Tony who pointed us in the right direction, seemed to know where his father would be at that time." McGee said without thinking.

Gibbs didn't comment, only nodded sadly. Of course Tony would know his dad would be propping up the bar with a call girl. Where else would he be after being told his child's life was in danger?

Looking at the screen and taking in what they knew from both Senior and the evidence he slipped into a state of deep thought.

"What are you thinking Gibbs?" Kate was eyeing him suspiciously.

"We're missing something."

….

Gibbs headed back to interrogation followed by McGee.

"Why are you staying at the Adams House under a false name?" Gibbs asked immediately, walking through the doors, placing another coffee down and retaking his seat.

"It was a name Henry and I used during our younger years," Senior gave a slight smirk, "it may surprise you to learn that there are some people out there not too keen to see me."

"Like the FBI?" Gibbs hedged, DiNozzo Sr held his position, but the brief flash in his eyes told Gibbs he'd definitely hit his mark. "So why are the FBI following you Mr DiNozzo?"

"Why do the FBI follow anyone?" He chuckled in returned.

"You know your son thinks this is a waste of time." Gibbs slammed his fresh coffee down on the table, leaning forward as far as he could into Mr DiNozzo's personal space. "Are you wasting my time Mr DiNozzo?"

To his credit McGee, who had taken up position at his side, didn't falter when Senior dropped the calm act and leaned in towards Gibbs, closing the already small gap between them.

"You may think you know my son better," Senior started with a growl, "but the boy always was prone to exaggeration."

"That doesn't answer my question." Gibbs stated factually.

He was done with playing games and being nice. Tony's father or not, they weren't having a pissing contest over who could protect him better, which it seemed Senior was under the misapprehension they were. All Gibbs wanted was to keep Tony safe and he didn't care who he had to tread on to do it.

"You've got to understand, I want to help junior, but if Miller is trying to frame me for murder, I'm in as much danger as he is, if not more!"

Gibbs blinked. He wasn't sure if he was hearing what he thought he was or if lack of sleep combined with the stress over the last few days had hit him harder than he thought.

"Are you asking for our protection Mr DiNozzo?"

"I'll tell you everything I know about Miller," Senior said in all seriousness.

Gibbs laughed, an instinctive reaction to cover his utter surprise at the deal being laid out before him. Just when he thought Tony's father couldn't sink lower in his opinion.

"So you'll only tell us what we need to know to protect your son, if NCIS agrees to protect you as well." Gibbs kept a smile on his face, wanting to give Senior some false hope before he crushed him. "You're a piece of work." Gibbs muttered to himself, shaking his head as he gathered himself.

"I'm warning you Gibbs, for Anthony's sake you need to hear what I have to say." Senior's voice hardened.

Gibbs' gut flipped at the thought of not doing everything in his power to help Tony and he was incensed that this man was trying to bargain with him over his son's safety.

"You're warning me?" Gibbs screamed in his face, he had been trying to keep a neutral expression, to not let the lies this sorry excuse of parent spat out on a daily basis get to him, but this was the last straw.

"Make the deal or let me go, you've got nothing to hold me on." Senior pushed.

Gibbs stood and stepped away from the table as a pre-emptive measure. If he didn't place some distance between him and senior one of them wasn't going to be walking out of there. The man's words concerning Tony echoed in his mind, he was unable to understand how anyone could have a child and not want to protect them at all costs. Senior had been asked several times by him and Kate what really happened to Tony twenty-five years ago and instead of answering their questions he'd deflected, distracted and purposefully avoided giving any answer that could help them. FBI or no, Gibbs had had it with him.

Gibbs pointed to McGee who, without missing a beat, clicked something on his cell, flooding the room with Senior's and Tony's voices.

"_I left you at the house." _

"_You left me? ... A six year old, alone in the house,"_

"_When I came home late and your mother asked where you were, I felt terrible."_

McGee clicked off the recording andGibbs sat forward, pinning Senior with his best unassuming glare.

"You falsified a police report Mr DiNozzo." He said, voice low and deadly.

Gibbs could have pinpointed the exact moment senior realised he was the one man that could not be bargained with. Gone was the joker without a care, sat before him now was the master manipulator, the man who'd taught his son to never trust, respect or love unconditionally. It was a testament to who Tony was at heart that he'd grown up to be the exact opposite of his father in nearly every way that mattered.

"McGee take his statement and then call NYPD, they can have him when we're done with him." Gibbs stood and spoke without care as he walked to the door.

"You're making a mistake!" Senior shouted after him as he left the room.

…

Gibbs entered autopsy like he had done on any other normal day.

"Jethro, you've just missed him I'm afraid." Ducky greeted him immediately, shutting the draw on yet another body.

"Missed who?" Gibbs drew to a halt next to the M.E.

Ducky looked at him with a puzzled frown, his hand resting on the draw's handle.

"Anthony." He uttered carefully.

"He was here?"

Ducky unfroze and walked over to his desk, removing his soiled gloves and apron as he went.

"I thought you sent him, Jethro."

"Nope." Gibbs shook his head turning and following Ducky with his eyes.

"Oh, well never mind then." Ducky dismissed as he bent over his desk and signed something, then continued to fuss with something else, trying to avoid looking in Gibbs' direction.

"What did he want Duck?"

Ducky sighed and stood up straight, walking over to stand in front of him.

"To talk." He gave Gibbs a heavy look, communicating this was different from their boy's normal chatter. "Amongst other things which I will not divulge, he wanted to know what I thought about this hypnotherapy Katelyn suggested."

"What did you tell him?"

Ducky glanced up at his friend and saw the sorrow etched clearly on his face. They both knew Tony talking seriously with someone was a major sign that he was struggling and Ducky knew that, whether he wanted to admit it or not, Gibbs was worried about the lad.

"That it's his decision of course." Ducky stated with vigour. "He's very confused. I think you need to spare time and sit down with him Jethro, letting him know we'll keep him no matter what would go a long way to ease his fears about this whole situation."

"I've been busy, couldn't exactly let him watch me question his Dad."

"Oh I understand, much like he can't go see Abby while she's processing the evidence. It doesn't leave him with many options. Yes very difficult for both you and him I'd imagine" Ducky stopped his rambling, having been observing Gibbs closely. "Is something else on your mind Jethro?"

"We're getting nowhere."

To say he was surprised by the heavy sigh that accompanied the answer was an understatement. Ducky wasn't used to a Gibbs who was so easily readable, his friend never let his guard down, especially at work.

"Mr DiNozzo no longer your prime suspect I take it." He decided to dig a little deeper, what worked with one could well work with the other.

"I don't think he ever was Duck."

The defeated tone said more than any words could.

"I see. You dislike him so much that you hoped he'd turned out to be the evil man you so believed him to be, but in truth he is just a man, a poor excuse for a father to be sure, but just a man all the same."

"He's definitely hiding something." Gibbs emphasised, changing the subject.

"You just don't know what."

…

"Can you believe Tony's dad left him all alone like that when he was only six?" Abby shouted over the music thumping out of her speakers.

Not receiving an answer she turned to look at McGee. He was sat behind her desk frowning at the computer screen like it had wronged him in some serious way. Not taking his ignorance of her lying down she sneaked up behind him and slapped him in the back of the head. McGee startled and looked like he was going to hit back until he realised who she was.

"Sorry," McGee groused, looking more miserable than apologetic, "thought it was DiNozzo."

"What you doing?" She asked accepting his apology without question.

"What I'm doing," McGee drawled, eyebrows raised, "is trying to do the impossible."

"Nothing's impossible Timmy." She bounced, smiling as she shoved him over in the chair. "What's the problem?"

"I'm still trying to find Miller…." McGee said without looking away from the screen. "Gibbs is relying on me and I'm getting nowhere!"

McGee growled and hit the keyboard when the screen flashed up 'search not found' again.

"Let me try." Abby barged into McGee.

"I've gone through everything, it's pointless." McGee barged back.

Before she could retaliate her babies starting beeping.

"What's that?" McGee turned and pinned Abby with a look when she went to check on it.

"What's what?" She asked distracted by the sample she was checking on.

"That. You found something? Because I could really use some good news to tell Gibbs." McGee begged unashamedly, pointing at the empty screen.

"I found many somethings" Abby grinned wickedly, she loved it when they begged, "but this a particularly special find."

She took the results from Major MasSpec and jumped her way across the lab to her middle computer.

"Cigarette butts?" McGee asked, looking over shoulder at what she was inputting.

"Not just cigarettes. Twenty-five year old cigarette butts," she smiled proudly. "I've extracted the DNA from the filters and now I'm going to get a match for the smoker."

"Ewe."

"You have no appreciation for the wonders I can do, Timmy." Abby sighed melodramatically.

"Where'd you get them?"

Abby grinned and walked over to her table, dipping her hand into the box Fornell had sent over. She pulled out the baggy of butts, holding them like they were first prize at a science fair.

"These were found in the New York apartment Tony was held in for the days he was missing." She dropped them back in the box without care and retook her place in front of her computer, beside McGee. "Only Bower didn't smoke so..."

"The police didn't try and match the DNA?"

"No, Timmy… they couldn't try and match the DNA because…" She drew out the last word, tormenting him with the obvious.

McGee frowned in in puzzlement at first, then his face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"DNA testing wasn't used in crime investigations until 1981." He shouted looking very pleased with himself.

"Exactly!" Abby joined in with his enthusiasm.

"So despite the FBI not being my most favourite people right now, or ever really, thanks to agent…" Abby ran back to the evidence box, picked up the cigarette butt bag and turned it over in her hands checking the label, "Williams! … for keeping at least this evidence preserved enough to pull something from I now have DNA to compare against a whole database of naughty people who could have been, and might still be, working with Miller to kidnap Tony again."

"Should we call Gibbs?" McGee asked, drifting back to the computer at her desk.

"No, not until we get a match," Abby watched him out the corner of her eye as she finished inputting the DNA results, "though the chances of this matching anyone we have on file today is slim considering the age of the case-"

Her computer started beeping the minute she'd hit 'send', which was at the same time that McGee screamed a 'YES!' followed by an immediate 'oh crap'

"Whoa," Abby backed away a step, "some serious mojo."

"You got a match." McGee asked tightly, frozen in place by what he'd just discovered.

"Yeah, but I don't know how, it only has access to our internal database. I haven't even sent it to AFIS yet…" Abby, not yet noticing McGee's anxiety, tapped a few keys, and brought up the match. "Oh Crap."

Abby gawped over at McGee and McGee gawped back.

"We gotta call Gibbs," they announced together.


	7. Chapter 7

"Call me for what?" Gibbs appeared in the lab doorway, Caf-Pow in hand.

"Gibbs!" Abby spun around, punching her keyboard so her screensaver popped up, hiding the results.

He walked all the way in and stood in front of her.

"What you got, Abs?"

He asked like usual, and for the first time in her life she really wished he hadn't.

Abby looked to McGee for help, but he shook his head manically, wussing out as usual when it came to giving Gibbs bad news.

"What makes you think I found something?" She turned back, sporting a smile that came off less sweet and more Claymation.

Gibbs tilted his head and frowned in that way he had that told everyone looking he knew you were lying.

"Abby?"

The patented Gibbs growl, something DiNozzo could brush off on a daily basis, was enough to break her lofty resolve.

"McGee has something!" She blurted, pointing her finger directly at Tim, who she could see out the corner of her eye scurrying around by her desk.

"Abby!" McGee shrieked, sounding just like a girl who'd had her pigtails pulled.

He stopped what he was doing to give her a wounded look and, not for the first time, Abby could see why Tony found it so much fun to pick on him.

"Will you two stop messing and tell me what you've found." Gibbs demanded, drawing her attention back to him.

McGee was franticly shaking his head, pleading with her to go first as he collected something from her printer. She didn't know how what he had could possibly be worse than what she'd found, but he looked convinced Gibbs would castrate him on the spot just for delivering the bad news. Rolling her eyes she hit a few keys on her keyboard and printed off her own results, two could play at that game. Walking over to McGee she snatched the print off he made and held both protectively in front of her chest.

"Ok," Abby took a deep calming breath before she began talking a mile a minute. "But Gibbs whatever you do promise me you will remain calm because as much as I want you to go all bad ass and super Gibbs and tear his head off I don't want to be visiting you in jail so you have to promise okay?"

"Abby!" Gibbs growled again, only this time more urgent.

"No Gibbs! Promise me or McGee won't give you the results!" Abby slapped the papers into McGee's chest, quickly stepping away, giving him no choice but to be the bearer of bad news, times two.

She winced, actually leaning away as Gibbs, bearing down with one of the worst Gibbs glares she'd ever witnessed, wasted no time in snatching the pages from McGee's loose grip. Both waited with bated breath as Gibbs read what they'd independently discovered and seeing his features morph into a rage the likes Abby didn't think they'd seen since ever, she screwed her eyes shut, bracing herself for inevitable explosion.

"That son of a bitch!"

…

Gibbs flipped out his phone, hit speed dial and ran out of the lab barking an order at Kate, ignoring Abby's shouts for him to stop and McGee to do something. Bypassing the elevator in favour of the stairs his anger fuelled his frantic pace all the way up to interrogation.

When he rounded the corner he found Kate waiting for him outside the door, Fornell's dreaded brown envelop in her hands as ordered.

"Gibbs what's going on?" She demanded to know as soon as she saw him marching towards her.

He snatched the file from her without a word and stormed through the door of interrogation, slamming it shut behind him.

Gibbs stood between senior and the only exit, doing his best to rein in his rapidly spiralling out of control temper. Abby was right to be concerned, there was a very good chance he might kill this man today.

"Something wrong Gibbs?" Senior spoke dismissively, as if he was asking about the weather.

_Something wrong? _Gibbs lost it.

Stepping forward he dumped the contents of the brown envelope onto the table. Photos and reports falling haphazardly, forming what would be a macabre sketch book of images.

"How could you do this to your own Son?!" He roared, picking up one of the many photos of a hurt six year old Tony and holding it in front of Senior's face.

"I didn't!" Senior screamed back, his indignation shining though.

"You. Were. There!" Gibbs picked up and placed three separate photos of Tony, placing them one by one under his nose.

He pinned senior with his patented angry Gibbs glare and upon seeing the sweat forming on the old man's forehead he knew, he was close to breaking him.

"Gibbs, I don't know what you think you know, but it's all a big misunderstanding." Senior avoided looking too long at any of the photos as they were put before him.

"This," Gibbs snapped, sitting down and forcibly pointing to one of the photos showing Tony's full face, complete with black eye and bloody nose, "is a misunderstanding to you?" He asked incredulously.

It satisfied Gibbs when Senior had to turn away from the image.

"You're wrong, my son was kidnapped!"

He leaned over the table and got up in Senior's face again.

"Yes, by you! … Cigarette butts," Gibbs slapped down the evidence Abby had printed out, "found at the scene where Tony was held." Senior looked shiftily up at him. "Our forensic tech just ran the DNA. I was expecting her to confirm a match to Henry Miller, but it didn't" he hit the table again, making senior jump, "the DNA was a match to you!"

Senior shrunk back, looking between Gibbs and the evidence in front of him.

"I didn't hurt him, you have to believe me," he pleaded, resolutely refusing to look at the photos still.

But Gibbs wasn't in the mood to grant any favours right now.

"He was burnt, beaten. Tortured." Gibbs growled the latter low in his throat and shoved another, no less gruesome photo under Senior's nose, pointing at the little round electric burns on Tony's temple, "_why_?"

He watched as senior's gaze landed on that final photo, seeing the blood covering the young and fragile body of the little boy Tony once was appeared to touch something inside the old man. He swiftly turned away, looking physically sick.

"I don't know-" He mumbled to the floor.

"How could you not know?!" Gibbs shouted at him again, "Tony was barely alive when he was admitted to the ER, he'd been drugged …"

"Enough!" Senior shouted suddenly, sitting straight in his chair and looking Gibbs directly in the eye for the first time since he'd begun the interrogation.

"Was it fun?" Gibbs continued to push in a low dangerous tone, intending to take Senior to his mental limit, "did you get a kick out of hurting a little boy? Did it make you feel strong putting him in his place, punishing him for those times he wouldn't do as YOU told him?"

"No!" Senior spat.

Gibbs could see he was close. Senior was sweating, fidgeting in his chair, unable to look at him or the photos anymore, unable to face the truth, so Gibbs continued to fire questions at him, each one hitting its mark and pushing Senior closer to the edge.

"Did he know it was you? Is that why you drugged him, to keep him quiet?"

"I didn't hurt him." Senior repeated.

Gibbs leapt to his feet, sending his chair flying backwards to hit the floor, and shouted in Senior's face.

"You broke his nose!"

"I didn't!"

"He's your son!"

"No he isn't!" Senior screamed back, slamming his hands down on the table and standing.

The room plummeted into silence. Gibbs felt all the air leave his body with the verbal blow and fell heavily back into his seat. Senior looked just as shocked by his own admission and collapsed heavily back into his chair, like the weight of his words was what was dragging him down. They sat staring at each other for a couple of minutes, the scent of despair rife within the air. Mr DiNozzo rested with his elbows on the table, head in his hands looking ashamed. Gibbs had his arms folded, blank expression in place, simply trying to comprehend the new startling information.

"Explain." He spat with a gravelly voice, breaking the intense silence.

"He isn't mine Agent Gibbs." Senior shrugged regretfully.

"Yeah," Gibbs drawled, unmoving, "I got that."

He didn't, he really didn't get it at all, which is why he was demanding an explanation.

"My wife, Tony's mother, she and my brother…" Senior fell back in his chair, lifted his head and looked over at Gibbs, "to her credit she never tried to tell me he was mine."

When his meagre explanation petered to a halt Gibbs didn't speak, instead he made the universal gesture for him to continue, all the while trying to ignore his own feelings on the matter. He had enough of his own experiences with a cheating spouse to understand what an affair can do to a marriage and as Senior talked he eyed the crushed and empty coffee cup lying in the corner with desire.

"You've never told him you aren't his father?" Gibbs spoke up once the explanation finished.

He tried very hard to keep his tone even and detached. All thoughts of beating a confession out of him for the kidnapping put on the back burner.

"My brother was reckless. He died in a car accident before Tony was even born. I'm the only father he's ever known." Senior sat back, looking very much his age and Gibbs had to fight the sudden urge to feel sorry for him. "When I found out she was having a boy I was over the moon, I had so many hopes for him, but it became clear very early on that _Anthony_ was exactly like his mother."

Senior sighing out Tony's name like he was a bitter disappointment had Gibbs' anger quickly reasserting itself. With new resolve to use the vulnerable moment to get some useful truth out of him, Gibbs continued with his questioning.

"What does any of this have to do with the kidnapping?"

Gibbs held his position, watching Senior obviously consider his options. He had none as far as he was concern, but the man was irascible and he really wouldn't put it past him to withhold whatever he could as a bargaining chip.

"Everything," Senior smiled sadly, "Miller knew Tony wasn't mine, he threatened to tell my wife's family if I told the police the truth about happened."

Gibbs rolled his eyes, ignoring the petty excuse for now.

"What is the truth Mr DiNozzo, what did happen?" He asked evenly.

But Senior wasn't listening, still lost in his own world of meaningless excuses and wonky reasoning.

"We were living off her family's fortune and they were from old English money. If they found out she'd had an affair and I wasn't even his father we'd both have been cut off!"

"Answer the question!" Gibbs bellowed, having heard enough of his excuses.

"I can't. There was another very good reason I couldn't tell the police about the ransom demand or why Tony was taken." Senior levelled him a knowing look. "I need that deal Agent Gibbs. If I tell you I'm as good as dead."

"Really, well right now I think that might be best for Tony." Gibbs said flippantly gathering up the files and photos into a pile.

"Now listen here Gibbs-"

"No you listen!" Gibbs yelled, standing to leave, the hold on his temper completely shot. "Whatever happens' you're done with him. You cut all ties, sign over any trust funds his mother left him and walk away. He isn't to see or hear from you again, is that clear?"

Without waiting for an answer Gibbs walked out and slammed the door behind him. Once outside in the corridor he let out a long calming breath and slumped against the wall in a very un-Gibbs like manner, but his relief didn't last long. The observation room door soon opened to reveal Ducky and Kate and he immediately stood up straight, game face on, acting like nothing that had happened in there touched him in the least.

"Are you alright Gibbs?" Kate approached him, concern written all over her face.

Gibbs didn't comment, instead he held his glare on Kate a little longer than necessary.

"I must say that was an awful lot of information." Ducky broke the tension efficiently.

"You believe him?" He said eventually, speaking to Ducky.

Ducky shook his head. Yeah, neither did he, Gibbs really didn't know what to think right now. There were so many holes in his story, and still so many unanswered questions. The problem was no one was being honest with them, from Senior to the NYPD to the damn FBI and ironically the one person who would willing tell them exactly what happened didn't remember any of it.

"Check his story and plug the holes. Find out how Bower fits into this." He answered eventually.

"What about him?" Kate nudged her head in the direction of the closed interrogation room door.

"I'm not done with him yet." Gibbs said with menace.

Kate huffed, but Ducky's gentle hand on her arm held her back from voicing her concerns again.

"Yes Gibbs," She turned sullenly and walked away down the corridor.

"Jethro, how _are_ you doing?" Ducky asked him quietly after she was gone.

Gibbs' shoulders dropped from the effort of keeping a solid front, he stepped back and pointed his chin towards the empty observation room, indicating that they were to talk in private.

"Duck,-" Gibbs began once they were inside.

"I'm not one of your agents Jethro." Ducky interrupted him upon shutting the door. "This has hurt you as much as it will Anthony."

Ducky crossed the room and got between Gibbs and the glass, blocking his view of Senior.

"Tony will not be hurt by that man again." Gibbs pointed at the sorry figure sat slumped in the chair on the other side of the glass.

"He's going to have some reaction when he finds out the truth…" Ducky blanched at the look Gibbs sent him, "you're not going to tell him are you? Oh Jethro you must! Any secrets between you and he'll see you just like his father."

"I'm nothing like that man." He spat. "And he isn't DiNozzo's father."

"No. He isn't. You are." At his glare Ducky added, "for all intents and purposes."

Gibbs sighed and backed away from the glass to pace the room, Ducky tracking his movements the whole time. Thinking back over the last three years, they'd gone through a whole lot together. Faced down a whole host of bad guys, solved murders, even hijacked planes, but nothing quite as personal as what this case had thrown at them. Hell if he lost Tony over this… they'd already come close to losing him recently, finding him alive in the sewers had been down to Tony's resourcefulness and determination, Gibbs would be damned if Seniors legacy was to drive Tony away from them for good. He thought about Tony. He thought again about last night…

Gibbs turned back to Ducky with a knowing smile, which the M.E duly returned without comment.

"So how am I supposed to tell him, Duck?" Gibbs knew Tony was going to have to be told about his dad eventually, but damn he really didn't want to be the one to do it.

"You've looked after him, in your own way, right from the start." Ducky reasoned lightly, joining him by the window. "All you need do is what the bastard who was supposed to love and protect him never could."

"And what's that Duck?" Gibbs asked sounding beat, even to his own ears.

"Tell your boy the truth, and be there for him." Ducky made it sound so simple, Gibbs almost laughed. "Trust me Jethro, if you try to protect him from this he won't thank you for it. If Mr DiNozzo does indeed stay away from him like you've instructed how is he going to feel? If Tony knows the truth maybe that'll help him, he'll likely no longer feel obligated to seek his love and approval. Much like I dare say Mr DiNozzo never really did feel obligated to love a child that wasn't his."

"Yeah, well," Gibbs gave Senior a dirty look through the glass, adding wistfully, "I'd have done it in a heartbeat."

Ducky was at his side, both of them looking into the interrogation room beyond when they heard the sudden intake of breath behind them. Ducky reacted first, turning around to face the newcomer at the door while Gibbs remained where he stood and closed his eyes in defeat.

"And my friend," Ducky placed his hand on his arm, "I believe Anthony will benefit from knowing that."

Never did he remember feeling this weak or helpless, yet despite that, mentally preparing for what lay ahead, Gibbs took a deep breath, opened his eyes and turned around slowly to face the distressed eyes of his young agent.

…

Tony stood frozen to the spot in the doorway of observation, not entirely sure what he should do with himself. He'd caught the tail end of a conversation between the Boss and Ducky that clearly had something to do with him, but… he couldn't of heard right. It wasn't possible. Though if it was right then it would explain why his father never seemed to care about him. He wasn't his father. Made sense, sort of, now he thought about it. Senior was probably a decent guy, it was him that was the problem, Senior had been right all these years.

Tony stammered, opened his mouth to speak, ask questions, make a joke maybe, but nothing short of a small strangled sound made it passed his throat. He turned his head away from the two staring at him, embarrassed by the tears pooling in the corners of his eyes. His reaction was a stark reminder of what had happened last night. He was a grown man for god sake, he needed to stop this. He hadn't cried in years, well not proper cried, last time he came close it had also been in front of Gibbs, after confronting Danny in Baltimore. And to make things worse Gibbs was wearing the exact same pitying expression back then too. Tony couldn't handle that look right now, seeing the care would tip him over the edge.

Tony directed his gaze down, pulled himself together and looked up again only to find Gibbs stood directly in front of him, hand clasping his shoulder totally invading his personal space. Confused on how that could have happened without him knowing Tony felt rage build up inside him. He made to turn and run back out of the room, but Gibbs grabbed his wrist preventing him from leaving. Tony instinctively tugged, not registering what had happened to hold him in place and the pain that shot up his arm was like nothing he'd ever felt.

"Easy." Gibbs uttered carefully.

Tony didn't listen and reacted on instinct. Trying again to free himself he pulled his arm, which caused him even more pain.

"Gibbs, let me go." Tony begged, ashamed at the watery quality of his voice, but Gibbs didn't reply or loosen his hold.

He yanked his arm one last time, trying to twist and pull away, but that only ended up with him pushed into the corridor, face squashed against the far wall, arm bent behind his back.

"Boss," Tony struggled, shifting from side to the side, "let me go!"

Gibbs' grip was firm and allowed for very little movement, causing strain in his muscles, but Tony continued to struggle anyway, despite the whimpers that involuntarily found their way out of his mouth.

"Stop fighting, you'll hurt yourself," Gibbs commanded, a calming whisper in his ear.

"You're hurting me!" Tony counted, not understanding why Gibbs would do this to him.

"Calm down and the pain will stop." Gibbs soothed him in total contrast to his actions.

Tony felt like he was in the twilight zone, he wanted to keep up the fight, but his arm was burning and hot tears escaped from the corners of his eyes, rolling down his cheek.

"Why?" Tony managed to ask with his face squashed against the wall, voice strained.

Only Tony didn't know what he was asking. Why was Gibbs hurting him? Why didn't his Dad ever tell him he wasn't his? Why was it no one ever seemed to give a damn about him? Gibbs remained silent though, and when he raised his other hand Tony braced for the smack. But when the stinging pain didn't come and instead gentle fingers carded soothingly through his hair Tony couldn't hide his surprise. He felt himself gradually calming down as the action was repeated, again and again, his struggles coming less and less until they stopped completely. Gibbs didn't stop though, he continued stroking his hair, all the while not loosening his hold.

"I'm not trying to hurt you." Gibbs said calmly into his left ear.

Tony could feel the comforting heat of Gibbs' body as he leaned into the hold, keeping him in place. It was solid and real and the feeling almost caused more tears to fall as it reminded Tony of his dream last night and what happened after. When nothing further was said, but the grip still held on his wrist Tony got the message that acknowledgment of his understanding was required. He promptly nodded, a small sound coming out of his mouth that was barely anything more than a sob.

"Good boy," Gibbs spoke, finally loosening his grip.

The adrenaline coursing through Tony's veins made him want to spin around and try to make a run for it again, but fear of what Gibbs would do next held him in place.

Face still planted against the wall, Tony closed his eyes.

…

"Tony," Gibbs spoke, using the same even tone he'd started with, "don't be scared."

The look of fear on Tony's face was enough to cause Gibbs regret over his actions. He hadn't intended to grab him, but when he'd tried to leave, it was just instinct. In that moment Gibbs' gut was telling him if he let Tony go he'd never see him again. But with no idea how to proceed now, Gibbs was left wondering, and not for the first time, if he really was the best choice for a father figure.

Despite his doubts on the matter Gibbs stepped closer to the wall, completely invading Tony's personal space again and cupped his cheek. As soon as his palm touched too warm skin Tony's eyes shot open. The fear he'd seen quickly morphed into shame, and then embarrassment and Gibbs leapt on it before the situation could get even worse.

"You're okay, you hear me DiNozzo."

He was talking about so many things in that moment, but when he got no response beyond a slight lowering of the eyes Gibbs guided Tony away from the wall and walked him into the other interrogation room across the hall from where Senior was currently stewing. Pulling out the chair usually reserved for suspects so its back was to the table and the mirror, Gibbs pushed him to sit down. Making another instinctual decision he leaned over him, bracing each hand on the table either side of Tony, until their foreheads where nearly touching. Tony's gaze was aimed at the floor the entire time, but Gibbs kept his focus dead ahead.

After nearly a minute of increasingly harsh breathing Tony finally gave in.

"Gibbs, please let me go." He asked in a surprisingly strong voice.

"No," he said succinctly, not even considering it and with no change in his tone or expression.

Tony made a small sound of distress before he bit the inside of his cheek to calm himself, something Gibbs had noticed him do on a handful of occasions before today and knew it was a sign that Tony was near breaking point.

"Gibbs – Boss, please" Tony begged him, his voice breaking on that last damning word.

When the shaking started Gibbs almost lost his resolve, but he managed to hold his position and remain silent, waiting for Tony to let go. Despite outward appearances, on the inside Gibbs' heart was breaking.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" Tony spewed out suddenly and repeatedly, tears falling unchecked from red rimmed eyes.

He pushed him away and stood up, trying to leave, but Gibbs stood too and quickly pulled Tony to him in an all-encompassing hug, as if shielding him from anyone who would dare try and hurt him. Face buried in Gibbs' neck Tony continued to whisper apologies.

"You've got no reason to apologise Tony, trust me on that." Gibbs whispered into his ear with feeling, rubbing one hand up and down his back, trying to instil a modicum of comfort.

Tony tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let him. Holding onto him tightly Gibbs moved them both around to half leaned, half sit on the desk. Tony eventually stilled within the embrace and with one arm still wrapped firmly around his shoulders, pressing Tony's into his side Gibbs flipped out his phone to make an important call.

…

Gibbs walked out of the interrogation room, giving Tony a few minutes alone to gather himself, only to find Ducky exiting the adjoining observation room.

"Agent McGee came looking for you." Ducky informed him sadly.

"Ah huh," Gibbs nodded, understanding that since he wasn't still here Ducky had sent him away again.

They stood side by side in silence, the empty corridor emphasising the oppressiveness of the situation.

"I'm sorry, I didn't intend to pry, but I couldn't just leave."

Gibbs blew out a long held breath, something he seemed to be doing a lot of recently. He was actually grateful for someone else's presence. He was out of his depth here and DiNozzo wasn't the only one who could use the support of a friend right now.

"I didn't want to hurt him." He whisperingly admitted, aiming a troubled glance to the floor.

"I don't think you did Jethro." Ducky denounced him outright.

Gibbs' gaze snapped up to meet Ducky.

"I pinned him against the wall!" He shouted, forgetting that DiNozzo senior was still in the other room.

Ducky turned to him, pinning _him to the wall_ with a determined look.

"Jethro, had you not stopped him Anthony could well have put himself in more danger by running away. One does not think rationally after learning something so devastating." Ducky reached out and Gibbs felt the comforting tap on his arm. "You did what you knew he'd respond to."

Though he was grateful for the reassurance his actions just now were not wholly inappropriate, Gibbs still wasn't convince he was up to the responsibility Tony had unintentionally bestowed on him. He guessed he had done what Tony would respond to, he was a man of instinct after all. That's where the headslaps came from, he didn't think, he just acted and Tony had always responded to them.

"I'm going to let him watch the tape." Gibbs answered Ducky's unasked question.

"Of the interrogation?"

"Better than me trying to explain it." He shrugged, feeling very old all of a sudden.

"Ordinarily I'd disagree, but in this instance I'm willing to go with your gut. You know Tony the best. Even better than his father it seems."

"Not his father Duck," Gibbs said casually as he walked away, leaving Ducky in the hallway to take care of Tony, "never has been and never will be as long as I have a say."

…

"Abs?" Gibbs walked into the suspiciously quiet lab, looking for her.

Abby jumped up from behind her desk and ran over.

"Oh thank god," she squealed, nearly jumping on him, only stopping herself just in time, remembering it was Gibbs and not Tony. "Let me check your hands," she grabbed his palms, turning them over and looking under his finger nails. "No blood. You didn't kill him."

"You sound disappointed."

Abby frowned at him.

"What happened?" She demanded seriously, not smiling.

"You telling me you don't know?" Gibbs raised his eyebrows, indicating the lack of music.

Abby blanched.

"Palmer made us turn it off when he walked in." She sulked, dropping Gibbs' hands and walking over to her computer in a full on strop, "said it was an invasion of Tony's privacy."

Gibbs made a mental note to thank the new kid for that too. If they'd watched what had happened in the corridor and then in the room after, Tony would be mortified.

"Us?" he questioned, despite already knowing the answer.

"Me and McGee." Abby groused, hitting the keys on her keyboard with far more force than required.

"How much did you see?"

"Well I know he isn't Tony's dad." She winced, adjusting her tone accordingly, "does Tony know yet?"

Gibbs nodded.

"He knows."

"How'd he take it?"

Gibbs contemplated the question silently and then moved on.

"I need you to find as much on this as you can, without anyone at the FBI finding out." Gibbs handed her back the print out of what McGee had found and waited while she read through it.

"Well I can see why he was near peeing his pants," Abby exclaimed, "he was right, its way worse than discovering Tony's dad was at his kidnapping crime scene. This is… wow."

Gibbs smiled, amused by her enthusiasm for something so damn complicated it made his head spin just thinking about it.

"Can you do it?"

"Are you really asking me that?" Abby give him a cheeky sideways glance.

Gibbs nodded and pecked her on the cheek. He was just leaving the lab, ready to return to Tony when he got a call on his cell.

Hanging up after a reluctant grunt, Gibbs redialled a familiar number.

"Ducky, I need another favour."

TBC…

A/N: Well how was it?


	8. Chapter 8

Upon hearing the usual click of disconnection Ducky flipped shut his cell and sighed deeply. Despite knowing that trying to stop Gibbs from doing anything he set his mind on was a near impossible task he did so wish his friend would approach the situation less like the proverbial bull in a china shop. Something was going to get broken before they closed this case and Ducky feared that 'something' could well be poor Anthony.

Thinking about the sorry state of the young man sat behind him gave Ducky pause. Although by his age he had seen and learned a lot, none of his experiences had granted him the same quick thinking reflexes Jethro had when there was a crisis. Anthony walking into the room at that moment had been unfortunate, but Jethro had made it work for the better, the marine in him reacting instantaneously to prevent an even bigger tragedy than that which had already occurred.

Unfortunately Gibbs' weakness came in the aftermath, being a man that struggled to express his own feelings it certainly was no surprise to Ducky that as soon as everything calmed he was escaping the room like a cat on a hot tin roof. And now it seemed he wasn't returning anytime soon and wanted Ducky to pick up the pieces. A role he didn't often mind per se, but knew without a doubt _he_ was not the one Anthony needed at his side right now. All the kind platitudes in the world could not make right what had come to light today and only the assurance from one man could have Tony walking out of here feeling secure about his place in life, which was imperative, otherwise the damage inflicted may well never be undone.

With those heavy thoughts swirling around inside his head and the burden of success resting firmly on his shoulders, Ducky drew in a very deep breath to gather strength and turned to face his newly acquired charge. Tony was still seated, face down, forehead resting on the desk, hands tightly clasped through his now dishevelled un-gelled hair. For all appearance it would seem he hadn't noticed the brief phone call.

"That the boss?" Tony sniffed into the table, unmoving.

Ducky gave the cell in his hand a cursory glance before pocketing it and walking over to lean against the table at Tony's side.

"He's checking to see if you're okay." He answered humbly.

Tony's shoulders began to shake and Ducky reached out, prepared to offer any comfort he could, but stopped, snatching his hand back upon hearing the muffled chuckle.

"Yeah Ducky, tell him I'm just fine." Tony lifted his head, letting lose the hysterical laughter. "Better yet," he sobered, the raspy quality of his voice giving his true feelings away, "tell him I quit."

Ducky bent down and looked upon Tony with his best narrowed eyed, disappointed stare.

"I will do no such thing."

Tony flinched away as if he'd been hit, briefly eyeing Ducky with suspicion before lowering his head back down to rest in the safe haven of his arms. He clearly hadn't expected the harsh tone, but even he had his limits when it came to childish behaviour.

"Now, now, you can't hide from us Anthony." Ducky reached out and, copying a move he'd witness Gibbs pull off without getting his hand bitten off, grabbed Tony's chin forcing him to turn his head and look at him, "Jethro no more wants you to quit than you want to leave and you know it."

They held eye contact a few moments longer in silence, Ducky only dropping his grip once he was convinced Tony had read everything in his look that he wanted him to. He couldn't deny it was rather saddening to see the slight edge of fear in the younger man's eyes as he pulled away. While hurting someone he considered family was not in his repartee Ducky knew all too well that sometimes a firm hand was what was needed to prevent a catastrophe, and Tony leaving NCIS certainly fell into that category.

"I'm not hiding." Tony grumbled quietly, gazing off to the side, avoiding any possibility of eye contact.

"Well you could have fooled me." Ducky smiled, adding a softer note to his tone, hopefully indicating that he wasn't actually angry with him. "There's no shame in being afraid, a lot has happened in the last few days, it'll take time to come to terms with it all."

As expected Tony completely ignored the truth of his words, focusing instead on what he deemed as a slight against his character.

"Me? Afraid, I'm not-" he laughed, shaking his head nervously, demonstrating the perceived weakness was closer to the truth than he clearly wanted to admit, "DiNozzo's don't-"

Ducky assumed the abruptly cut off phrase was meant to be one of those infamous epitaph's that the boy spouted each and every time someone showed him concern. Only this time the common turn of phrase caused him to blanch and go still. Recognising the problem Ducky immediately sort to console Tony that his identity as a DiNozzo was not completely lost.

"Anthony, Look at me," Ducky gripped his shoulder.

Tony refused to turn, fighting off his tears with everything he had left. Ducky rolled his eyes heavenward, praying for strength. He much preferred his usual role as the understanding ear, the person everyone could come to and tell their problems, but he knew all too well that with Jethro gone the responsibility of keeping DiNozzo from jumping off the cliff he was currently so precariously balanced upon fell to him. If they let this set back break him, the likely hood that Tony would follow through with his threats to leave NCIS were high indeed.

"You may not be that DiNozzo's son, but you are still _our_ Anthony DiNozzo. You've not lost anything." Ducky continued sternly.

Timed passed by and Tony shifted gently under his grip. Ducky felt the tension ease slowly away and held his breath in anticipation of a response. It wasn't in his nature to be so harsh, especially to a victim, but he could appreciate now more than ever the choices Jethro had to make on a daily basis. The role of a father wasn't an easy one, sometimes it was necessary to be the bad guy even if it hurt the one you're always striving to protect.

Mere seconds later Ducky's determination to hold ground paid off. Tony slowly tilted his head back and looked up at him with wide tired eyes.

"If I even had it to begin with," Tony uttered solemnly, voice hoarse with yet more unshed tears.

Ducky dropped his hand, letting his arm hang limply at his side in defeat. His meaning had been missed again and sighing in frustration, he soldiered on by initiating the next stage in the process of pulling DiNozzo away from the unstable cliff's edge to stand supported on secure ground.

"Come on my lad," Ducky hooked his arm under Tony's and encouraged him to stand "let's get you downstairs, I've got a nice cup of tea waiting for you."

The sudden switch back to his more often used softer approach seemed to touch something inside Tony which was getting increasingly hard for him to bury. One look at the pained confusion in his features and Ducky knew it would only be a matter of time before he broke down completely. Holding Tony around his middle Ducky could feel only bone, giving him a good once over he looked pasty and pale, like he'd not slept or eaten in days. He knew that wasn't the case and that stress was the most likely cause of his dreadful state, but given Jethro's penchant for surviving on nothing but coffee Ducky wondered when any of the team had last eaten a decent meal that wasn't out of the vending machines. More than a cup of tea was in order if that was the case, so placing a guiding hand under his elbow Tony was unresisting as Ducky led him towards the door.

"I'd prefer some of that scotch you hide in your desk draw." Tony broke the tension as they left the cold comfort of the interrogation room and entered the hallway.

"I have no such thing Anthony," Ducky scolded good-naturedly, ensuring they hurried passed the agent posted outside Senior's door. "Not all Scotsmen have whiskey hidden in their desks you know."

"Second draw down, under the paperback of Bridget Jones' Diary - which by the way is much better on DVD I'll lend you it -" Tony looked over his shoulder, pointed at him and winked, "-30 year old McCallum blend. A gift?" He asked innocently, smiling smugly.

Ducky chuckled, very pleased to see that despite his dishevelled appearance, Tony was still very much his comical self.

"Has anyone ever told you you're too nosy for your own good?" Ducky asked him as they walked side by side towards the elevator.

Tony's reply was instantaneous and deadpan in its delivery.

"Kate."

…

"Fornell" Gibbs bellowed across the crowded green area where Navy Yard personnel were spending their lunch basking in the heat of the midday sun.

"Gibbs," Fornell growled upon setting eyes on him, advancing on his position, "What the hell's going on?"

"Funny I was going ask you the same thing?" Gibbs shot back coming toe to toe with the FBI agent and matching Fornell's annoyed look.

"I told you I'd handle it." Tobias immediately tempered his anger and lowered his voice, alert to those walking around them. "You keep getting Agent McGee to hack our computers and…"

"And what Tobias?" Gibbs challenged.

He'd had just about enough of the FBI's veiled threats and predisposition to only sharing information when it suited them, especially when it was his agent's life in danger.

"How about you explain why you didn't tell me about Miller and DiNozzo Sr's connection to the FBI earlier?"

"It was classified." Fornell growled reluctantly.

"Tony's life is in danger and your excuse is 'it's classified!" Gibbs shouted not caring if he was making a scene.

In fact the more fuss he kicked up the better. If FBI agents were watching them right now he wanted it known nothing was going to stop him getting to the bottom of this and seeing Miller and Senior behind bars for what they did.

"I wasn't read in until _someone_ hacked our database and accessed the information, and that was only so they could ask if I knew who that might be!" Fornell groused out through gritted teeth, giving Gibbs a pointed look.

Gibbs stepped closer and glared at Fornell, who merely huffed in response to the non-verbal threat. Since McGee wasn't being escorted out of NCIS in handcuffs, he guessed he probably owed Fornell a thank you, but since that wasn't ever going to happen and in lieu of anything else to say Gibbs kept an impassive face and waited for Fornell to continue.

"You're welcome." Fornell said with an air of superiority, a barely noticeable curl of lip indicating he knew exactly what Gibbs was refusing to say.

"I'll buy you a coffee," He offered shortly in conciliation.

Luckily Fornell knew him well enough not to push further and moved the conversation straight back on to the business at hand

"I take it since you've gotten this far you found the information I left you about Miller's aliases?"

"That was you?"

"Gee Gibbs, you're really off your game," Fornell chuckled, looking at him in surprise, "thought you'd have ran that down straight away."

Gibbs winced, not liking the idea that that could be true.

"I've been busy, I let McGee handle it." He dismissed.

Gibbs could see the frown form on Fornell's face but was resolute he wasn't talking about it now.

"Yeah well, don't give the kid too much free rein, can't promise I can cover his ass again."

"So where's Miller now?" Gibbs asked casually, ignoring Fornell's flustering.

"Even if I did know I wouldn't tell you."

"Why the hell not?" He brought them to a halt.

"Because this is Ari all over again. Only I know you Jethro, you _will_ kill this one." Fornell whispered dangerously, well aware others were likely trying to listen in.

"Well yeah!" Gibbs confirmed his suspicions with a smile.

Fornell shook his head seeming to get that there was no point in arguing with Gibbs about the politics of a situation when it concerned the safety of one of his own.

"Ever heard of Joe Bonanno?" Fornell started them walking again, looking serious.

"New York Mafia boss, thought he retired."

"He did. His son took over the reins the early '70's. Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno was someone not to be messed with…"

"But?"

"It seems DiNozzo and Miller messed, big time."

"Tell me this is just the FBI's sick sense of humour." He said deadpan.

"Wish it was, Gibbs" Fornell sympathised as they approached the coffee stand, "Then at least I wouldn't have to worry about what you'll do when I tell you the next part."

"Tony." Gibbs sighed out his agents name like he was evoking some ancient curse.

Gibbs approached the barista and ordered, a feeling of dread had made residence in his gut and coffee was the only thing he had to ground him right now.

"As you probably already know by now the FBI was never really involved in DiNozzo Jr's kidnapping. Obviously at the time there was no such thing as Amber alert and the local LEO's never contacted us for help, so…" He shrugged.

"So how _did _the FBI get involved with DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked paying for and collecting their coffees, pocketing the small paper bag the young woman also handed him before Fornell could question him on the odd additional purchase.

"Two years after the kidnapping the FBI are close to bringing a case against Bill Bonanno. DiNozzo and Miller end up on their radar as having ties to known Mafia front businesses, mainly in real estate. Miller up and leaves the country before the FBI can get to him, but Senior's still hanging around. Apparently his wife's just died and all his assets were tied up with her estate, he was a sitting duck…"

Gibbs flashed back on his conversation with Senior concerning his wife and her family money. He was betting Miller's abrupt departure had little to do with what the FBI knew and more about what Senior would tell them regarding Tony. If what Senior had told him in interrogation was true, with his wife gone the threat of blackmail regarding telling her family about Tony's real father would been lost too. Senior legally inherited his wife's estate and was free to tell whatever truth he wanted regarding Tony's lineage.

"…they catch up with him and Senior makes a deal for information in lieu of time in federal prison." Fornell takes a sip of his coffee and they move on, walking back towards the main building.

"Let me guess," Gibbs smiled knowingly, "he told the FBI about Tony's kidnapping at the hands of the mafia?"

"How'd you guess?" Fornell smiled back sarcastically, showing Gibbs he believed the story as much as the rest of the team would.

"This where the ransom demand comes in?"

"Apparently from Bonanno's enforces for unpaid debts. He claimed your little DiNozzo Jr was taken because he'd refused to pay up after a card game at one of Bonanno's club. He said he never told the police the truth because they had threatened to kill him and his wife if he did. After the deal was made we seized the stored evidence from the LEO's in '82, just in case some over-zealous cop got any ideas to look at it again if it came out that Bower was a patsy."

"Something doesn't sit right. DiNozzo doesn't strike me as the gambling type." Gibbs said mostly to himself, systematically storing away the details, "What else?"

"That's it. The case got thrown out a year later when Bonanno was executed by a rival family. DiNozzo never testified and despite having some assets frozen for reasons that still aren't clear he was free to live his life pretty much as normal. The FBI settled for DiNozzo's story and didn't reinvestigate the kidnapping."

Gibbs gave Fornell a look. It was returned with as much heat as it was received, after all both men were fathers and Fornell didn't disagree that the FBI agents in charge at the time had dropped the ball, leaving a young child in danger by not checking out DiNozzo Sr's version of events.

"What about the current case, involving Miller?"

"It's classified."

Gibbs looked away with a smirk, he wasn't about to inform him Abby, and likely McGee, were already working on tracking down the information anyway.

"But you can tell me where Miller fits into this." Gibbs pushed anyway, it was always useful to check and compare sources.

"All I know about Miller is what McGee already found out. He's working as a C.I for the special ops task force, its need to know and I'm definitely out the loop as to what their directive is." Fornell stopped short and dropped down on a bench near the main doors.

The sun was shining high now, bathing the open green area in warm rays of light. It was a poor sense of irony that despite the pleasantness of the day, inside Gibbs' veins were like ice. A cold hard dread was creeping slowly up upon him, a sense that whatever was happening was out of his control and if he didn't act soon everything that was good about his current life would be cruelly ripped away from him, piece by piece.

"Tobias." Gibbs growled dejectedly, joining him to sit on the bench.

"Gibbs, I swear." Fornell held his hands up in surrender, "I don't know anymore. If you want a clue I'd suggest asking daddy dearest because I know there is more to this than I'm being told."

"Ya think?" Gibbs snapped.

Fornell frowned and sat back against the bench. Gibbs could see something else was on his mind and patiently waited in silence for Fornell to grow the balls needed to say it.

"I hate to say this Jethro,"

"Just spit it out Tobias," Gibbs rolled his eyes, taking a long sip from his paper cup.

"I know how you feel about him," Fornell turned and looked Gibbs in the eye, "but are you sure the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree?"

Gibbs froze.

"You best not be suggesting what I think you are." He responded dangerously, before looking away and taking another long sip of his coffee to ease his rapidly rising temper.

"Him remembering nothing is a mighty coincidence Gibbs, I'm just saying-"

"Shut up right now, while you still have your teeth." He snapped, pinning Fornell with his trademark glare.

The look and the tone appeared to roll off Fornell, which only made Gibbs angrier.

"Admit it. If it was anyone other than your agent, you'd be suspicious." Gibbs refrained from commenting on that and made it clear with another hard look that further accusations would not be tolerated, "Ok fine, but at least now you know you've got nothing to worry about. With Miller working for the FBI your boy's safe." Fornell finally relented, seeming more at peace with himself now he'd said it.

"And how'd you work that out?" Gibbs barked affronted. "Ari's working for the FBI too, but he shot me and one of my people, kidnapped Kate and threatened DiNozzo's life. You actually expect me to trust their judgement on Miller?" Gibbs couldn't hide his surprise at Fornell's seeming stupidity.

"If Miller wasn't on the level they'd never have set up whatever this is. Especially given the connection to your golden boy," Gibbs gave him a look. "You scare people Gibbs."

"Oh yeah?" Gibbs valiantly held in the smile that threatened to break free upon hearing that. "If Miller is so on the level why is Craig Bower dead?"

"Bower's dead?"

"We found his body yesterday with a bullet through his brain." Gibbs didn't hide his surprise at discovering the FBI weren't up to speed on the current situation with their new asset, "Henry Miller killed him." He finished affirmatively.

"You're reaching Gibbs" Fornell scoffed.

He wasn't, they hadn't the evidence yet, but he was sure all signs would eventually point to Miller and when they did the FBI where going to get their asses handed to them on a plate.

"Do the FBI even know where Miller is?" Fornell refused to answer and looked away, "I didn't think so. You come see me when you find him, but until then I'm gonna keep looking." Gibbs stood up from the bench and quickly walked away.

"Gibbs you can't!" Fornell stood up and shouted after him, "You interfere with an active FBI operation and the director will have both our asses!"

Without looking back Gibbs binned his empty cup, throwing it headlong into the trash can beside the path.

"Watch me."

…

Ducky stood alone, hovering by his desk and staring at his phone, willing it to ring. He'd finished checking Tony's general condition a few minutes ago, and after determining all he needed was some food and a little rest he'd settled him down in the corner of autopsy on the futon cushion Mister Palmer had thoughtfully retrieved from Abigail's lab. It was a good idea, after all Jethro was the only one he'd ever known able to find comfort on the cold hard autopsy tables. Unfortunately Abby had accompanied Jimmy back downstairs with the bed and had attempted to visit. Ducky managed to intercept her before she made it through the sliding doors and explained why now was not the best time. He had no doubt she already knew everything that had happened in interrogation and understood perfectly why she so desired to see young Anthony, but although Tony appeared calm, happily interacting with Mister Palmer as he set up the temporary bed, on the inside Ducky knew he was wound tighter than one of Abby's pigtails and Ducky didn't want him being pushed too far too soon all because she wanted to help him.

Luckily Abigail was an astute individual who understood other people better than other people understood themselves sometimes and with Ducky's urging Abby, with Palmer in tow, returned grudgingly to her lab, but not before handing him another tin of those English biscuits she had shared out the previous day, with the strict instruction to force feed them to Tony if necessary. Ducky had offered him some before leaving him alone to rest, but one look at the ostentatious red tin had Tony pleading for a, as he put it, good ole American chocolate-chip cookie instead.

"How's he doing Duck?" Gibbs asked smoothly, startling Ducky from his contemplative thoughts.

"Jethro!" he smiled in relief that Gibbs hadn't left to take matters into his own hands as he had so feared. "I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

The last hour had taken all he had in him and Ducky was certain before long Tony would have run rings around him in order to get his own way, by then it would have been too late to stop whatever crazy plan he'd formulated in the meantime. Ducky knew full well what Anthony needed most in life was boundaries, and whereas he had often criticised Gibbs' methods in dealing with others, especially those he cared for, Ducky had to admit when it came to Tony DiNozzo he knew exactly what the boy needed.

"I wouldn't leave him Duck." Gibbs whispered earnestly.

There was a drawn quality to his voice that was like nothing Ducky had heard from his friend before. No doubt an after effect of the effort it must have taken for him to come back and help deal with the emotional trauma instead of hunting down those responsible for causing it.

Knowing any enquiry as to where he'd been and why would be duly rebuffed, Ducky contented himself with recounting Tony's condition.

"Well his blood sugars a little low and heart rate a little fast, but overall, considering all he's been through in the last 48 hours, I'd say he's doing remarkably well. Could do with some of that tough love you're so fond of."

"That's good." Gibbs nodded with an amused smile, walking over to where Tony lay sleeping under a blanket.

"He needs to eat but all he'll entertain is -" before Ducky could finish Gibbs was waving a thin white paper bag in his face containing one large round double choc-chip cookie.

"Got it covered Duck." Gibbs threw at him without turning, walking over to the futon and drawing Tony's attention.

Ducky turned to leave them to it and smiled when he heard a husky 'thanks boss,' as the doors slid shut behind him.

…


	9. Chapter 9

Tony really did wish he could fall into the sweet oblivion of sleep and forget everything, even just for a short while. But unfortunately all the will in the world wasn't going to stop his mind from turning over everything he'd discovered about himself these last few days. Hell the events of the last hour alone were enough to consume his dreams for a week.

Lying on the floor in the relative dark of autopsy wasn't a very sleep inducing environment anyway. Ducky had turned the overhead lights off and since there were no windows he had no sense of time passing, which only added to his feelings of misery and confusion. Before he could suppress it a heavy sigh escaped his lips and Tony quickly rolled over, pretending to sleep so Ducky wouldn't feel the need to talk to him about what was keeping him awake. Like that would take any stretch of the imagination. Tony's hand instinctively went to his left wrist, gripping it where Gibbs had grabbed him in the corridor and cradled it to his chest. He felt for sure that if he were to look at it now he'd see the fingers marks still imprinted on his unusually pale skin. Tony tried to distract himself from further unhelpful thoughts by idling wondering if he should take a holiday to recapture his normal olive skin tone when all this was over, but his mind kept dragging him back to that corridor and the moment he opened the door to hear Gibbs claim he'd have _'done it in a heartbeat'_ had he been charged with the task of loving and raising him instead of Senior.

What exactly did Gibbs mean by that anyway? Because, yeah, it could be explained away as what he'd do for any child in that situation, not just him, but Tony being Tony couldn't help but make it personal. The thought that Gibbs might care about him enough to wish he'd been the father to him that Senior never was made his heart swell. Even now his whole body was tingling with excitement that finally someone possibly loved him for who he was instead of what he could give them.

For woman he was arm candy, not to be conceited, but he knew he was good looking and getting a date was incredibly easy if he wasn't fussed about much beyond looks. He often picked woman who saw him in the same light, therefore eliminating any chance of an emotional connection. Falling in love made him way too vulnerable. He'd been hurt once and had since learned how to avoid experiencing that kind of pain again. With his dad Tony had learnt that not all parents loved their kids unconditionally. In fact how his dad felt about him could often be measured on his importance in sealing the deal on another marriage. For some of his stepmothers he was the price, others, an inconvenience. Boarding school and summer camps were places his dad stored him until required and half the time he had no idea where Senior was or what he was doing. Every school holiday he'd wait pensively for the phone call that would either let him down gently or result in introducing him to his dad's latest squeeze. Gibbs however was nothing like that. He even had a rule to 'never be unreachable' and since all these rules came about due to experience Tony suspected that Gibbs had in some way written that one just for him.

_2002_

"_Gibbs! Gibbs!" _

_Tony ran down into the basement, his feet slamming every step so hard and fast he sounded more like an out of control irate teenager instead of an experienced federal agent._

"_DiNozzo?!" Gibbs groused, his tone an equal mix of surprise and irritation at his unannounced presence._

_Tony jumped off the last step to land in the middle of the empty dusty basement floor, poised between continuing onward, getting close enough to be slapped and turning around to run back out again. Considering the hell he'd been put through the past week, right now he didn't know whether he wanted to hug or hit Gibbs, and by the look on his boss's face the feeling was mutual. _

"_What the hell are you doing here, DiNozzo?" Gibbs said calmly, throwing him an irritated look over the rim of a mug of bourbon._

"_What am I doing here?" He screeched, throwing his arms wide and not caring that he perhaps he looked a little crazy in his dishevelled suit and wild uncombed hair. "You've been gone a week! No word, no warning, you've not been answering your phone, Abby's been going insane, Ducky was… well…" Tony stumbled, too wound up to keep track of anything beyond the burning anger simmering deep within him, "Where the hell have you been?!"_

_Tony sagged, physically and emotionally wrung out. The frantic drive over here after getting a call from Sally in resources letting him know Gibbs had been spotted leaving the NCIS parking lot, combined with his little run down the stairs and subsequent shouting having nearly done him in. He hadn't slept properly in days, ate even less and was at the point where breaking down into tears wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen to him today. In short he was just really, really goddamn tired. _

"_Working," Gibbs answered after a moments pause, breaking the silence wherein all Tony could hear was the rushing of blood inside his own head._

_He'd been through hell worrying where his normally reliable boss had taken off to these last few days, wondering if he was okay, if he needed his help. All in all he was strung out and all Gibbs could offer as an explanation was 'working'? The rushing sound got louder, so loud in fact Tony thought his head was going to explode with the sheer volume._

"_Oh work-ing!" Tony laughed as he strung out the syllables, "okay that's fine, that's cool," he switched to nonchalance, "Sure, of course, because you work alone right? We're not partners, on the same team, supposed to watch each other's six, are we?" There was no missing the sarcasm that now dripped from every word and although the voice inside his head was telling him to 'shut the fuck up' Tony's basic survival instincts weren't up to par._

"_You answer to me DiNozzo, not the other way round." Gibbs shrugged with a bite to his tone, turning his back to refill his suddenly empty mug._

"_I get that. I do." Tony nodded honestly, his resolve fading with his energy, "but didn't you think I might be worried?" _

_He looked beseechingly at Gibbs hoping, praying the man would turn around and say something to snuff out the fuse lit by his complete ignorance of what his thoughtless actions had done to them - to him._

"_I thought you'd do your job." Gibbs stated as plain as ever._

_The fuse burned out and Tony exploded._

"_You thought I sit on my ass and do paperwork while you were god knows where doing god knows what and could have been in danger?!"_

_Gibbs' face changed in an instant. His nondescript manner morphed into a look so deadly Tony actually flinched. He thought he was in for the biggest slap of his life when Gibbs suddenly stepped forward so they were toe to toe, face of stone, eyes narrowed and standing so tall he made Tony feel all of twelve years old again._

_That was the first - and last – time he'd ever stood up to his father. On that occasion he'd finally come clean to his dad that enough was enough, he was old enough to make his own choices and wasn't going to be pushed around anymore. That had ended with him usurped from his home of the moment and packed off to a military academy where he would learn to 'respect and obey' his elders. Tony actual smiled at the memory, if there was ever something Tony truly excelled in it was confrontation. He could argue with the best of them, weave an argument round to fit his purpose and generally wind up anyone who tried to best him. Anyone until Gibbs that is._

_Back in the basement, just as Tony thought he'd pushed too far and prepared for the expected smack, Gibbs' face slacken. The anger disappearing as fast as it had appeared only to be replaced with a look Tony found very hard to classify. It wasn't pity, closer to understanding. Tony was sure he'd kept his inner fears so well hidden that even he had trouble pinning them down from time to time, but the look on Gibbs' face told Tony he knew something more than what was being said._

"_I'm sorry." _

_Tony blinked, wide eyed and in shock, his confusion over what Gibbs might know completely forgotten. _

"_Uh, what?" He blurted, aware he sounded rather dim._

"_Sorry," Gibbs repeated casually, as if Tony wasn't standing in the middle of his basement stunned and completely confused. Reaching for a cup off his top shelf he continued "Broke one of my own rules." _

_Gibbs tipped a bunch of nails out of the cup onto the counter, ignoring as each one rolled and fell to the sawdust covered floor. After blowing out the dust he poured in a shot of bourbon making sure to top up his own glass before handing the cup over to him._

"_What rule?" Tony took the offered bourbon without noticing how badly his hand was shaking._

_He pushed aside the apology, more focused on what rule could possibly cover this particular situation. _

"_Never be unreachable." Gibbs raised his own mug slowly and waited for Tony to mirror the action before bringing it to his lips._

"_What number's that?" He asked, holding out his own mug, sensing something wasn't quite right._

_Gibbs appeared to think about that._

"_Three." He said eventually._

"_I thought three was 'don't believe what you're told. Double check'" Tony quizzed, though he had a good idea about what the boss was going to say next._

"_I changed it…" Gibbs smiled and drank._

…

And true to his word, since that basement toast, which Tony believed was actually in recognition of a new rule 3, there wasn't a time when Gibbs failed to inform Tony if he was going away for a while or at least answered his phone when called. It was a defining moment for him, it let Tony know that Gibbs understood him, even if he didn't understand himself, and was willing to make allowances just for him no matter how silly it might seem to others. Of course the memory of that night brought to mind the second time that rule came into play, since clearly it went both ways and the elevator punishment was still so fresh in his mind that he couldn't help but cringed each and every time he was reminded of it. One thing was for sure though, it would be a long time - if ever -that he'd be making that mistake again.

Going back to his original question though, the one that drew him into this weird train of thinking, what did Gibbs really mean when he'd said he'd have done it in a heartbeat? Was it possible Gibbs loved him like his own? If he did that would be like all his Christmas' at once and there certainly was an argument for it because despite his often short temper and gruff attitude, it was obvious at the core Gibbs cared about the welfare of his agents. It was a marine thing, a cop thing too, which was why Tony never took it personally when Gibbs growled at him to work smarter and harder even when he was already giving 110%. Tony easily let the bad moods and the insults to his intelligence roll off him, understanding the frustration only came from wanting to 'catch the bad guys' and maybe, he was hoping at any rate, a little bit of paternal teasing.

Although others would say he believed otherwise Tony knew Gibbs wasn't perfect, that he had flaws just like everyone else. The thing that people didn't get was why Tony kept him on such a lofty pedestal anyway. The way Tony saw it, it was human nature to fall short of expectations and if growing up under Senior's guiding hand had taught him anything it was that nobody was perfect, even less so when they were trying. What Tony loved about Gibbs though, and yes he loved his boss, was that Gibbs never tried to be anything. Gibbs was a good man; he was a marine and a role model. There was no try about it.

As Tony considered the facts further the excited tingling he felt building only moments ago faded. The good feelings of having someone care being chased away by reality as always. Not all his memories with senior were great, but at least he'd belonged to someone back then and someone was better than no one. Now he didn't belong to anyone, and no matter how Gibbs may feel about him or how he knew he felt about Gibbs, the facts didn't change. He didn't belong to Gibbs either and the day would soon come when the boss would expect him to fly the nest, put to good use all those hours of training. He wasn't Gibbs son, he was his Agent and when Gibbs was through with teaching him he'd be expected to survive in the world alone and damn-it Tony wasn't sure he could do it. Yes he was an excellent investigator and yes one day he probably could live a very successful life without Gibbs looking over his shoulder checking he was doing it right, but did he want to? Probably not.

Tony didn't remember a time that he wasn't alone and what he really wanted in life was permanency, safety, a place to call home – no matter where in the world he found himself living. He believed he'd found such a home at NCIS and it terrified him that he might be forced to leave it all behind to start anew all because of his so called dad. The sadness the very thought of leaving brought made his eyes sting and Tony pulled the blanket Ducky had so carefully placed over him up as far as it would go, hiding his face so as to rub at the annoying salt which had glooped in his lashes from his last crying episode without drawing too much attention. The memory of Gibbs holding him as he lost it, his unwavering support like a rock in Tony's suddenly upside world, caused his cheeks to flame. He'd kept up a good front with Ducky on the trip down to autopsy, but the reality of everything was suddenly hitting him, and hitting hard. Tony didn't think he'd be able to survive this mess if it went on much longer.

Relaxing wasn't easy, but when he was done his eyes felt scratchy and sore, which only threatened to bring on more tears at the hopelessness of it all. Shamed beyond belief at his ridiculous overly emotional behaviour and that he had broken down so spectacularly in front of his boss as well as god knew who else watching in the other room, Tony wanted nothing more than to go home and be alone for a while to clear his head, but he knew with Miller still out there even that small luxury was going to be a pipe dream for the foreseeable future.

Screwing his eyes tightly shut Tony willed sleep to come for him, since anything would be better than this self-imposed prison of constant recrimination, but, aside from the ghost of Gibbs' hand on his wrist and in his hair, Tony's whole body was numb. He felt cold, bereft, unconnected and, worst of all, alone. Like if he closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift he'd never wake up again. The thought scared him so much Tony didn't think he even wanted to sleep anymore.

While he was busy shaking off those terrible thoughts a slap, not to his head, but his backside snapped him out of his head and into action. Flipping onto his back all the fight drained out of him when Tony forced bleary eyes to focus on Gibbs, who was crouching over him, holding out of all things, a large double chocolate chip cookie.

"Thanks boss." Tony rasped with a soft pleased smile reaching up for the cookie, in no doubt the treat was for him.

Without bothering to sit up he ripped into the bag and took a large bite of cookie, leaving dark crumbs to fall from his mouth onto his chest and the floor. Bite followed bite and Tony would swear Gibbs had waited until the moment his mouth was completely full of cookie goodness to land the verbal bomb on him.

"We need to talk."

Tony paused in chewing for the barest second, audibly swallowing, he sat up.

"No offence boss," he started, "but those words from you, it means Armageddon."

With the blanket pooled in his lap Tony took another careful bite and looked up at Gibbs with earnest wide eyes, waiting for him to reveal what it was they needed to talk about.

"This isn't the time for jokes Tony, I'm in no mood." Gibbs said sourly, but with a hint of weariness that had his head hanging below his shoulder blades.

Tony struggled to his feet and walked over to Ducky's desk to put some space between them, the closeness only reminding Tony of what an idiot he'd been lately. The pensive silence stretched on, and to occupy him he messed with a model of the heart, picking a piece up and causing several others to fall off. He gave up putting it back together as a bad job and managing to avoid eye contact with Gibbs lowered himself into Ducky's waiting chair.

"Didn't think you were ever in the mood for joke's boss," Tony said with forced levity, his smile nervous and unassuming, "Sorry boss." He retracted without Gibbs having to say a word, a glare being all that was required.

"I've just met with Fornell." Gibbs maintained his stone faced facade and jumped straight to business.

Tony patiently held his tongue, but noticed almost immediately when Gibbs didn't elaborate it wasn't because he'd finished talking, but because he was actually, for the first time Tony could ever remember, struggling for words. Forget bells, warning sirens where whirring in Tony's head at this development.

"And?" He pushed, leaning forward all of a sudden, every nerve in his body on high alert.

"It… doesn't look good for your dad." Gibbs managed to say eventually.

"He's not my Dad." Tony snapped instantly, hooded eyes not wavering from Gibbs' face, using every ounce of energy left to ensure his facial expression remained indifferent.

Gibbs rolled his eyes in a way that made him appeared more concerned than frustrated.

"Tony-"

"Gibbs I know what you're going to say," Tony breathed out a heavily frustrated sigh. "I don't know what your parents were like but mine were…" Tony drifted, his mind going instantly to a memory of his mother, "… my father… he was never around."

"What about your mom?"

Gibbs' uncanny ability to zone in on exactly the topic he'd wanted to avoid irked him considerably.

"Why are you asking me?" Again all it took was a look from Gibbs to shut him up. "Sorry, doesn't matter." Tony pushed it aside, breaking the eye contact he gazed around the cold, still semi- darkened sterile room, "What did Fornell say?"

"See for yourself." Gibbs handed him a thin file folder, not looking at all surprised he'd figured out who he was meeting.

Wide eyed, Tony took it.

"Fornell gave you this?" He said after glancing through it, now understanding Gibbs' uneasy attitude.

"McGee pulled it directly from the FBI database. Fornell just confirmed it." He nodded, looking unusually apologetic.

Tony nodded solemnly and perused over it in more detail while Gibbs filled him in on more of the details Fornell had shared.

"There's more." Tony said with dread, sensing Gibbs was leaving something out.

"DNA confirmed your dad's presence at the apartment where you were held," Gibbs confirmed his suspicions. "It suggests he was more involved in your kidnapping than he claimed… for one."

"And for two?" Tony didn't need to ask for more details even he'd suspected his father's involvement, from the moment Henry Miller's picture flashed up on Abby's screen only two short days ago.

"That anything he says can't be trusted."

Understanding dawned why Gibbs was being so coy and unlike his usually brash unemotional self. Nobody was about to take Senior's word for anything, least of all Gibbs.

"My DNA should be in the system."

"Abby's working on it." Gibbs nodded sadly, reading his understanding from his own resigned head bob.

Tony had hoped to keep the snooping into his life to a minimum, but understood the team would go where the case took them, regardless of his involvement or how it affected him, but it was the complete lack of control over the flow of information which was making it difficult to accept and decide what he should do next.

"How long has Fornell known?" Tony slumped down into Ducky's rather comfortable seat, placing the folder face down on the desk, an unconscious action which spoke volumes about his mental state.

"Not until the FBI got wind of McGee hacking the system. He's not in trouble," Gibbs immediately reassured upon seeing his sudden apprehension, "Fornell covered his ass."

"But he did know about my father." Tony stated quietly, already resigned to the truth since knowing that when Gibbs glossed over something it was for a reason.

"Not all of it." Gibbs stayed strong, proving there was still some of the old Gibbs determination in there somewhere.

"Did you?" Tony pushed it a step further, not bothered by Fornell's secrets, but if Gibbs had known his dad had been involved with the FBI...

Gibbs' expression hardened, but not so anyone else bar Ducky would be able to tell and caught his gaze before answering with extreme calm.

"No."

Eyes narrowed, remaining silent, Tony sized him up, trying to determine what was the truth and what lie.

"You knew something though." Tony sensed, his mind wandering back a few years and was as surprised as anyone when Gibbs looked away first.

"DiNozzo-"

Gibbs managed his name before the lost for words look appeared on his face and because Tony couldn't stand to see the man he admired so much look so lost he decided to help him out and end this painful moment as soon as possible.

"I know about your background checks Gibbs." Tony blurted.

Gibbs straightened and instead of any of the ways Tony had imagined this moment going when he dropped the bomb that his secret little space in his basement desk wasn't so secret, he never once imagined Gibbs being angry. And right now he couldn't think why that was.

"Don't look at me like that." Tony said nervously, feeling it was unjust that he was being made to feel like the bad guy here. "You're the one digging up everyone's dirty secrets."

"I have to know everything about my Agents." Gibbs justified.

"I know." Tony nodded simply. "It's why I've never said anything. But you could have just asked me."

"Would you have told me the truth?"

Tony winced and then, he laughed.

"You got me there."

It didn't need to be discussed. Tony knew perfectly well he had a penchant for over exaggeration, or twisting facts to fit his purpose. Small white lies here or there that threw people off, he was a master at, just like his so called father. Tony was too irresponsible that was why he was cut off from the family money, not because his dad was a selfish bastard who used it to fly around the world meeting and bedding beautiful woman. T

ony took a bite of his cookie, feeling the need for some comfort right now since his mind was intent on torturing him.

Gibbs, like Gibbs did, clued into his thoughts immediately and making no mention of what he did or didn't know got straight to the heart of it.

"There's nothing wrong with who you are DiNozzo."

Tony looked up, surprise written all over his face on hearing the heartfelt words come from his 'second b's for bastard' boss. The small upturn of lips from Gibbs made it even more unusual, but it was good to hear somebody liked, or dared he hope, loved him, for who he was.

"I'm not sold on the gambling excuse." Tony cleared his throat, refocusing and picking at the details Gibbs had shared about his dad's claim for the reason he was kidnapped.

He didn't know how they'd gotten so far off topic, but right now he needed to refocus, get things back on track before it was too late.

"Not something you remember?" Gibbs joined him in his mission and it was clear from his enthusiasm he was grateful too.

"He liked money Gibbs, threw it around all the time, wasted it on hotel rooms and fancy booze, anything for a good time, but he'd never risk it, not like that."

"If you're right it means he was covering for someone."

Tony sat forward.

"Or he did something much bigger to piss off the mafia."

….

"What do you think they're doing down there." Abby paced her own lab in the background while Kate, McGee and Ducky surrounded her workstation staring at the repackaged evidence.

"Abigail for the last time they are just talking." Ducky sighed, feeling he'd aged twenty years since stepping through the door.

He'd come up here to get out of the way, much in the same vain as he'd sent poor Mr Palmer to seek out other tasks until it was time to leave for the day, only to find Kate and McGee clustered around Abigail's computer discussing the current situation.

"Gibbs doesn't talk." Abby refuted automatically, the frown she'd been wearing since he entered getting deeper with each minute that passed.

"Well today he does." Ducky stated flatly, his own legendary patience with even the most difficult of people worn out completely.

Tony hadn't exactly been a gem, but it would be unfair to blame the poor boy entirely, Gibbs was certainly trying his patience today too.

"No, if Gibbs is talking it's bad very, very bad." She continued to pace.

Ducky shook his head, giving up.

"Abby, Ducky's right." Kate caught his eye, "Tony's just found out the man who raised him isn't his dad, may have been responsible for hurting him and involved with the mafia… anyone would be upset! Gibbs is just doing his job by treating him like the victim instead of an Agent, isn't that right Ducky?"

"I think raised might be pushing it my dear, but otherwise correct." Ducky nodded, his countenance back to being soothing, "lets we focus on solving this case so the poor boy can rest easy at night and in his own bed for a change, hmmm?"

Abby appeared at his shoulder.

"All my babies are working Ducky they'll let me know when I'm wanted." She said smoothly like a guru.

"What are they working on?" McGee asked, more as a filler for when the room fell into silence.

Tony's absence was most notable then Ducky realised and with the reminder came great sadness that it might be a while before they heard his rather infectious laughter again.

"I'm running Tony's DNA against Senior's, you know, because… and something else Gibbs asked me."

Her avoidance of discussing what that something else was along with her forced aloof manner clued Ducky in that she was hiding something, so it wasn't long before McGee found out what it was.

"You're hacking the FBI!" He shouted upon looking over one of her many computers, "does Gibbs know?"

"Gibbs told me to Timmy. And oh, by the way, what you found out was…WOW." Abby was vibrating with excitement and Ducky found even he was intrigued to hear what had been learned while he was trying to convince, unsuccessfully he might add, Anthony to take a sleep aid.

"What's this?"

"McGee found out Miller's working as a C.I for the FBI. Fornell swears he didn't know." Abby rushed out, with McGee looking instantly annoyed.

"Abby I could get in trouble! It's a federal offence we could go to jail!"

"Well if we do I'll share a cell with you, like a sleep over, it would be fun!" Abby playfully punched him in the arm.

Ducky smiled, only just holding in a chuckle. McGee didn't appear to share her enthusiasm, but wisely held his tongue regardless. Maybe he could give Tony a few pointers on how to stay on the good side of woman, because for all his charm it was often his mouth which got him into the worst trouble.

"I take it you knew this?" Ducky turned to Kate who hadn't looked at all surprised by the information.

"Gibbs told me before coming down to you and Tony. That's why we followed him," she pointed at her and McGee, "he never shares like that."

"You see." Abby pointed at him. "Talking. Not Gibbs." She stomped her feet once, seemingly satisfied her point was made and turned back to her machines.

McGee joined her and as they were discussing new variously confusing ways to 'hack' as Abby put it Kate leaned in to him and spoke in confidence.

"I'm worried about him Ducky."

"You and me both my dear…"

….

Jimmy once again found himself looking for something to do that would keep him out of autopsy for a while. Yesterday he'd managed to cleaned a few pipets before having dinner with Agent DiNozzo., but it didn't look like that would happen today, by the state of him when Dr Mallard had walked into autopsy something big had happened and being the new guy, with few connections he was still in the dark about the details. After ushering Abby out he'd considered asking her, but just a few hours prior he'd told her and Agent McGee when they were hacking the security cameras that it was wrong to spy on people, especially their friend, so it would have been hypocritical of him to ask for gossip. So once they'd parted ways at the elevators Jimmy ended up wandering the corridors of NCIS until he found a supply closet to organise.

That done he was on the prowl for a new job when he passed by an empty office and had the idea to study for his prelim exams coming up in the fall. Since starting at NCIS he'd had very little time so this was a good opportunity to cram in some revision. His books were in his car so Jimmy made his way through the lower levels of NCIS and out the rear door into the car park. It was only the middle of the afternoon, so no one was around, everyone still working hard inside. Jimmy walked casually down the long row of cars, his being out of the main lot in the overspill around the corner.

As he passed one car the lights came on and beeped as if opening. The noise made Jimmy jump and he looked around, but seeing no one nearby carried on walking. When the beep sounded again, he stopped and walked back. He couldn't see anyone at first, but then a voice drew his attention from behind the car.

"Excuse me, young man" a strong male called to him.

Jimmy turned to find a distinguished older gentleman standing at the side of the car that had been opened. On closer inspection it wasn't just any car, it was a dark 1972 DeTomaso Pantera, obviously custom built with additional modern accessories like auto-locking. Classic cars were something of a secret interest for him, mainly because the college friends he had where more excited by beating a fellow student at chest than the speed you could reach in one of these babies. Admiring the sleek exterior Jimmy hoped one day he might actually get to own a car just like this.

"Can I help you?" Jimmy stuttered, wishing he had the nerve to ask the strange man if he could drive it.

"I'm looking for Agent DiNozzo."

"Tony?" Jimmy whispered unthinkingly, thrown out of his train of thought…

"Yes I'm worried about him, he hasn't been home in over two days, I do hope he's okay." The man said smoothly, closing the gap between them.

Jimmy managed to shake off his initial confusion, noticing the man had a slight British twang not unlike Dr Mallard he quickly put two and two together. He may not be an Agent, but he wasn't a moron either.

"Oh, right," Jimmy laughed, more through nervousness than design, though it served him well in this particular situation, "erm yeah okay, well how about you come in and I'll, I'll get him for you."

Jimmy smiled tightly, trying hard not to lose it. That was until the man frowned at him and raised his arms revealing the gun tucked in his waist band. Unable to prevent what was essentially an instinctual reaction Jimmy stepped back and knocked the cars wing mirror.

"How about you let him know I'll be waiting for him." The man held his position, his own tight smile indicating he knew what Jimmy was trying to do.

Jimmy sucked in a breath, his hands shaking so much he shoved them in his pockets.

"Yeah, yeah, okay, can I tell him where you'll be?" His voice squeaked on the end.

"He'll find me, don't you worry." The man smiled a toothy superior grin, "Or I'll find him first."

After a brief moment of intimidation the man turned around and strolled away, leaving Jimmy pressed up against the very nice car, but as soon as he was a good enough distance away to not shoot him Jimmy ran out the lot and back to autopsy as fast as he could.

….

"Dr Mallard!" Jimmy screamed running through the doors and skidding to a halt, coming face to face with Agents Gibbs.

"Palmer." Gibbs groused.

He was still in the middle of talking with Tony and was about to bring up Kate's suggestion of the shrink when Ducky's assistant had barrelled through the doors like he was on fire.

"Agent Gibbs thank god."

"What's wrong?" Tony butted in, causing Gibbs to turn and look at him.

He was surprised, even though he knew shouldn't be, by the sudden business as usual tone when mere seconds ago he'd looked like a beaten on ten year old.

"Car park I saw him, I saw the guy!" Palmer streamed out, breathing heavily.

"What guy?" Gibbs pressed though he caught on quick enough to make a guess.

"I was going to my car, to get my books because you see Dr Mallard told me-"

"Jimmy!" Tony snapped.

"Yes," Palmer shook his head, "Sorry, erm the guy, he asked about Tony said he'd be waiting for him, knows he hasn't been home in two days I think..."

"Old guy, nice suit?" Tony asked for clarity.

"That's him." Jimmy agreed.

"That's Miller boss." Tony said flatly, looking Gibbs right in the eye.

Gibbs didn't waste time asking more questions, he ran out the room and into the stairwell, pulling his cell phone out as he went.

"Kate, secure the yard!" He hung up before she could say anything.

Sensing Tony on his heels he stopped and spun around.

"You!" he yelled, "get back to autopsy now!" Gibbs pointed at Tony, shaking a finger in his face.

"Boss-"

"No!" he shouted not wanting to waste more time and in lieu of any other option turned to Palmer who had followed them into the stairwell and was stood stock still at the bottom, "You! Keep him here until I return, or your fired."

And with that he left.

...

Tony watched Gibbs go and didn't move a muscle until he was out of sight.

"He, er, can't really fire me can he?" Tony looked sullenly at Palmer as he re-joined him at the bottom of the stairs. "Best not to test that though right? We should stay here. You will stay here right?"

Tony looked at the gremlin. He was pretty certain that yes, he could leave and yes, Gibbs could probably fire them both, but he knew he wouldn't. That said he didn't leave, he owed Palmer after all for bandaging his hand… and the pizza.

"Think you can take a look at this since we're here?" Tony asked to distract him from his own low feelings of self-worth.

Palmer looked more than a bit relieved to have something to focus on and once they walked back into autopsy he busily went about fetching medical supplies to clean and redress his cut hand.

"Looks good," Palmer held Tony's palm and inspected it, "you can leave the bandage off, better for the healing process, but er, don't get it too wet for a couple of days."

"No washing the pots or scrubbing the floors at chez Gibbs. Got it." Tony joked.

"Isn't it weird living with your boss?" Jimmy asked as he repacked the first aid kit, "I wouldn't want to live with Agent Gibbs –not that I don't like him, I, well…" Jimmy paused to regroup, "What I mean to say-"

"Jimmy?"

"Yeah?"

Tony let his face do the talking and tried really hard not laugh as he watched the understanding transform the autopsy gremlins features from frown to confusion to embarrassment all in the same minute.

"So what shall we do while Gibbs and the others protect the damsel in distress from the evil monster outside the castle?" He said changing the subject without a hint of irony.

"Who?" Jimmy frowned at him again.

Tony rolled his eyes and pushed off the table he'd been leaning over, rolling down his sleeve.

"Me!" There was an audible 'ooh' followed by a quick chuckle then Tony found Jimmy at his side. "And to answer your question, it isn't so bad. I've lived worse places with far worse people."

Tony shrugged when jimmy looked sideways at him, clearly expecting more. He may have asked too but the phone rang, and being a good assistance Jimmy jumped to answer. He on the other hand ignored it and instead picked up an x ray film Ducky had left lying out and held it up to the light to see if he could see anything other than a blurry mass of white.

"Yep, definitely could be worse..."

…

"Gibbs?" Kate stood up from examining the car when she saw him approaching them.

"What ya got?"

"Well it's a classic, Palmer was right." She nodded at the DeTomaso's front end which was sticking out just that little father in the space.

It was a car her brothers would surely kill for, Tony too she guessed given his fascination with large shinny things.

"You talked to Palmer?" Gibbs snapped.

"Yeah, you said he was the one who saw Miller-"

"Where?"

"What?"

"Where is he, I told him to stay in autopsy with DiNozzo or I'd fire his ass."

"Oohh," Kate grinned, that explained why Jimmy had refused to come up and talk to her when she asked, "I interviewed him over the phone. He's probably still there."

"Probably Kate?"

"Is. He is still there."

He better be anyway she thought, because though normally Kate wasn't too bothered by Gibbs blowing steam, she wouldn't put it passed him that this would be the time he'd actually follow through with his threat.

McGee came up on her left side, handing her a set of keys.

"Found these under the driver's seat."

"So he drove the car into the lot and leaves it here. Why?" Kate held out the evidence bag with the keys inside.

"It's a message." Gibbs said, looking around at the small crowd gathered around them.

"What is it?" She asked, Gibbs stopped looking and glared at her. "I'll find out." She added quickly.

Kate ducked her head to hide the grimace threatening to break out on her face. Gibbs must have transferred his glare onto McGee because in an identical tone to her she heard him say…

"Get the footage from the front gate, on it boss." He walked off, leaving the bagged keys in Kate's hands.

"I know there's no body, but I thought you might like my assistance." Ducky joined their little group. "Miller was here I take it?"

She stood still, studying as a profiler every move Gibbs made. Now his short temper and clipped sentences were common place, but the air of urgency was not. Gibbs didn't exactly slack off at crime scenes, but he normally held himself in check, which meant something had gone down in autopsy that had really unsettled him. She was about to inquired as to what that was, but Gibbs beat her to the punch, as if he sensed what she was going to say.

"Kate go fetch Tony from Autopsy, bring him back up to the squad room." Gibbs ordered.

"Yes Gibbs," She agreed, knowing she was being got rid of and that there was nothing to be done about it.

Walking slowly away Kate could see Gibbs was saying something to Ducky, but with all the commotion outside she couldn't hear the words clearly enough to put a sentence together.

"And do not leave him alone!" Gibbs bellowed back to her.

Kate jumped and picked up pace, knowing she'd been spotted. The order was an obvious one for show, but she nodded in agreement anyway to keep on his good side. Walking away and leaving them to it Kate guessed if she wanted to know what he and DiNozzo had talked about she'd just have to ask Tony herself.


	10. Chapter 10

Gibbs strode with purpose out of the elevator, McGee on his heels chattering nervously about how Miller had managed to once again infiltrate the Navy Yard. Any other day and he'd have shut him up with just a look, but as they neared the bullpen his keen senses told him he'd be glad for the distraction before long. The first thing he noticed walking into the bullpen was Kate sitting at her desk, not working. Following her gaze his eyes rested on Tony, sitting at his own desk across the way, chair turned around with his back to the team, legs up, feet planted flat against the divide. Everything about his scrunched up posture shouted 'leave me alone'.

Sighing heavily Gibbs slipped behind his desk and sat down. If the body language hadn't clue him in, the presence of the trusted Rubik's cube nestled in his shaking hands being violently twisted back and forth sure did. Clearly the kid was mad. Mad at him, his father, the FBI, heck probably the whole damn world right now. Yelling at him in front of Palmer had probably been embarrassing, however, by the apologetic looks Kate was throwing Tony's way Gibbs would bet the reappearance of that infernal cube game was all her doing this time.

"What did you do?" He asked wearily, without taking eyes off his computer screen.

"Gibbs?" She frowned, clueless.

"Kate?" He matched her tone for tone, still refusing to look her way.

He flicked his gaze momentarily towards Tony, heard Kate huff at his side before she slammed her notebook shut and swivelled her chair to face him.

"I asked him about what you two discussed in autopsy. That's all." She stated irritably.

"That's all?" He mimicked, knowing it was a sure fire way to not only piss her off, but get the answers quicker.

He could see she was thinking something over, her tight lipped expression indicating a complicated internal debate was going on.

"Well he didn't want to tell me," Kate paused, but continued when he moved his gaze away from the screen and aimed it squarely on her, "I may have pushed him a little."

"What happened?" He sighed again, the team falling out was all he needed right now.

"I called him a baby when he refused to talk to me," she admitted cagily, "I didn't think he'd take it so... I've called him a lot worse!"

Kate shrugged, looking hopefully at him to explain the odd reaction.

Gibbs simply shook his head. She didn't get it. Probably never would. He certainly wasn't going to tell her, because to her right now Tony was being a little sulky and she'd forget about it once he was back to his usual exuberant self, but if he told her DiNozzo had literary broken down in tears and cried like a baby in his arms, there was no way she would ever forget that.

Looking around the squad room he saw everyone else was either purposefully avoiding eye contact or sending flickering glances their way. The good news concerning DiNozzo, his father and certain mafia connections travelling fast as usual no doubt. Gibbs waited a beat, looked to Tony who was still refusing to look at him and snapped into double-b mode.

"McGee!"

McGee jumped, but before Gibbs finished bellowing his name his crime scene pictures from the NCIS parking lot flashed up on the big screen.

"I haven't had chance to access the security cameras, but the car Miller left behind is a-"

"DeTomaso Pantera." Tony interjected, spinning his chair around to face them.

Kate smiled at him, but Gibbs could see DiNozzo wasn't impressed with her efforts to suck up. He didn't even try to smile back, mustering only enough energy to give her the stink eye. Shaking his head in amusement Gibbs turned away to look at McGee. This was one battle Tony could definitely fight on his own.

"So who does it belong to? Miller?" He asked, indicating if he didn't already know he was to check.

"Well-"

"It belongs…" Tony interrupted McGee again, "to my father. Or it at least did."

Gibbs filed away Tony's use of the word father for later reflection. Things were bound to be confusing for a time, and right now they had bigger concerns than DiNozzo's mental state.

"Did?" McGee repeated, latching onto to that very telling word.

"I don't remember seeing it again after we moved out of our first house, but Senior had a few cars, so it was hard to keep track..." Tony sat forward, his sentence drifting as he stared at the image on the plasma.

He looked like a shell of who he used to be. Outside Ducky had voiced his concerns over how poorly he looked and Gibbs didn't know how he'd missed it before now. DiNozzo was pale, except for the dark bags surrounding each eye. The bruise on his cheek where Bower hit him had reduced after the first day, but there was still a feint hint of yellow lingering on his cheek bone. The hand Palmer had treated was heeling, but still looked painful. What was worrying him most was his hair, it was lacking its usual coiffed look because Gibbs didn't stock any of that infernal gel he used on a daily basis and he'd forgotten to pick it up when they'd visited Tony's apartment to fetch a bag. So instead of being neatly combed back Tony was sporting a quiff so high it looked like it was taking on a life of its own and made him want to shoot at it. The worrying part about it was DiNozzo didn't seem to care…

"Gibbs," Kate whispered, pulling him out of his head. "I made the call. She'll be here after she closes her practice this afternoon."

"That quick?"

"I told her it was important, plus she owes me."

Kate shrugged it off as being no big deal and Gibbs smiled, humbled by her willingness to go out of her way for someone who annoyed and irritated her on a daily basis.

"I love him too Gibbs," She smiled back, and then dropping the hushed tone resumed discussion of the case with rest of the team. "Tony if that is your dad's car what's Miller doing with it?"

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs yelled when Tony didn't snap out of his little trance.

"Boss?"

"Stay with us," he said not unkindly, redirecting his attention, "McGee, the car?"

"It's still registered to Mr DiNozzo but…" McGee scowled at his computer, giving Tony random looks.

"What?!"

"I'm not sure. It's going to take time." McGee winced like he expected Gibbs to get up and hit him in the head.

All Gibbs did do was throw his pen down and growl in frustration. Rubbing both hands over his tired eyes he attempted to channel his anger inward for a change, maybe he should buy himself a Rubik's cube, seemed to work well for DiNozzo.

The case was going nowhere fast and right now would normally be when Tony jumped in with one of his movie comparisons that sometimes led to him or one of the others having an idea. Gibbs looked over at Tony to see he was only barely back with them, suggesting the unnatural lingering silence was set to continue until further notice. It only emphasised what a large role he played in getting the others to think better, but the case didn't stop because Tony wasn't on his game…

"Okay. What do we got?" Gibbs demanded from his team as he rose out of his chair and walked around his desk to stand in the middle of the bullpen, eyeing each of his agents in turn.

Kate stared at him in confusion.

"Gibbs?"

McGee was looking at him too.

"We need a new perspective." Gibbs clarified.

If they didn't get he was filling Tony's shoes right now he'd fire them on the spot.

"Well we know Mr DiNozzo didn't kill Craig Bower," Kate spoke up after a brief pause and rummaged around her desk, "he has an alibi."

"Miller Killed him?"

"Is that a question McGee?" Gibbs walked up to his desk.

"Erm…"

"No," Kate spoke up with authority, "according to Abby there were no other finger prints at the scene, only Mr DiNozzo's on the scotch glass."

"Isn't that a little strange?" McGee asked, unthinkingly and everyone including Tony turned to stare at him, "I mean why wipe down the entire room and leave behind a glass that places you at the scene?"

"Maybe he wasn't the one who wiped down the room?" Kate suggested.

Gibbs Kept his gaze on McGee while Kate spoke and he could see by the effort it took to control his facial expressions that McGee knew Kate was being patronising.

"Someone really is trying to frame him." Tony said quietly into the silence.

Gibbs couldn't tell if that was relief he heard or disappointment. He guessed if it turned out Senior was a lying SOB about everything then it would be much easier to hate him, but if he really was in danger like he claimed then Gibbs knew no matter what Tony would feel obligated to help him, because that was the type of person Tony was, he didn't judge who deserved saving.

"McGee, what _do_ we know about Miller?"

McGee jumped up and joined Gibbs standing in front of the plasma. Clicker in hand, a photo of Henry Miller appeared on the screen.

"Henry Miller, former US resident and close friend and business partner of Anthony DiNozzo Senior." McGee presented, "He originally left the states in 1981 when the FBI tried to arrest him on laundering chargers. Upon landing in New York he made first contact with the FBI."

"Why?"

Kate stood up, having found what she was looking for and took the clicker from McGee.

"Miller entered New York, so we assumed his first contact was with Mr DiNozzo, but after McGee hacked the FBI we discovered we were wrong."

Kate brought up airport security footage.

"That," She pointed at the man standing in the corner of the screen, "is Arman Santiago."

"Mafia?" Gibbs guessed.

"Try FBI handler." Kate smiled proudly. "He paid for the flight and cleared Miller through immigration."

"Any ideas on what he's doing here yet?" Gibbs growled, annoyed beyond words that not only had the FBI failed to keep tabs on their supposed informant, they were the ones who brought him here in the first place.

"Abby's still looking, but after meeting with his handler the next thing Miller did was arrange a meeting with Mr DiNozzo here in D.C. We have phone records." Kate nodded gravely, handing him the print out she'd searched her desk for.

"And the FBI were tracking Senior at the same time." Gibbs stated, reiterating what Senior had told him down in interrogation.

"So if whatever we're dealing with here is centred around a bad money bust in '81 where does Bower fit in? He was in prison when this went down and couldn't have had anything to do with it." Kate asked, frustrated.

"Any Mafia connections?"

"None. In or out of prison."

Everyone fell silent again, the missing puzzle piece that connected these two separate events together hovering just out of reach.

"It's personal." Gibbs nodded at the screen image of Miller, imagining all the ways he could make the man suffer when he finally caught up with him.

His gut was telling him this man was guilty of something to do with Tony and with Bower dead and Senior in custody already, he was the unlucky recipient of all of Gibbs' pent up aggression.

"He wants me to help, willing this time." Tony repeated sombrely what Miller had said to him in the parking lot.

Gibbs looked over his shoulder at him and they shared a meaningful look. He'd promised Tony he wouldn't let anything happen to him, now he was promising to make the bastards pay for what they'd done.

"Am I missing something?" Kate asked expectantly, glancing between them in concern.

"No, but the FBI are!" Abby ran in, her jewellery clanging together, coming to a standstill before Gibbs, unintentional breaking his contact with Tony. "Element 79!" She announced proudly.

"That's a short story by Fred Hoyle" McGee answered when everyone remained quiet, awaiting an explanation.

Abby glared at him before turning back to Gibbs with a smile.

"It's the code name of a classified FBI operation that involved the Bonanno's and missing FBI cash, a lot of it."

"Element 79?" Kate asked the question they were all thinking.

"79 is the atomic number for gold." Abby specified as if that explained everything.

"Gold?"

"Money Gibbs! The FBI lost track of agency money they were using in a long term undercover mafia operation along with one of their agents!" She squealed with excitement. "Miller and DiNozzo were helping the Bonanno family launder money, that's how they came to be involved with the FBI. A sort of help us or 'you go to jail' thing."

"How much?" He asked.

"Oh only around $700,000."

"Wow." McGee's jaw dropped.

"That's a pretty big screw up, how come Fornell didn't know about it, he must have been around then."

"Just how old do you think I am agent Todd?" Fornell barked when he appeared as if by magic from around the corner.

Kate spun around to face him. McGee and Abby exchanged surprised looks, while Tony didn't even look up at his entrance. Gibbs wasn't surprised of course since he'd been the one to call him in after locking down the yard and failing to find Miller. He was hoping the FBI had had eyes on him, and Fornell was here to give him good news, but in response to his steadily aimed glare Fornell signalled that was a definitive no.

"Anyone get in trouble?" Gibbs asked turning back to Abby.

"Well the file says the undercover agent was killed, and the person who leaked his identity was fired, but it doesn't say who that was or about how the money went missing." She winced in apology.

"Good work Abs, -"

"Wait Gibbs that's not the best part! This didn't happen in '81." She paused for dramatic effect, "The Element 79 file was sealed July 4rd 1978."

She stepped back in anticipation, hands covering her mouth to hide the pleased as punched smile swallowing her face.

"Whoa," Kate stepped up, "That can't be a coincidence."

"Something else about the money though," Abby interrupted, still vibrating with excitement that she'd found the missing link between Tony's kidnapping and Henry Miller. "That figure is based on the actual amount missing, if it's been hiding out in an off shore bank account somewhere…"

"Boss that could be worth over a million with interest," McGee added, having quickly done the math in his head.

"Worth Killing for." Fornell agreed.

Sly looks were aimed at Tony, who was resolutely not paying anyone any attention again. And while they waited for him to respond Gibbs nodded at Fornell, a silent thank you for not making an issue about them having more information about a classified FBI operation than they should.

"So if Miller laundered money for the Bonanno's through businesses set up by Mr DiNozzo then is it possible one of _them_ still has the missing money…" Kate surmised first instead.

"That might be why the FBI went after them in '81 and froze their assets, the Bonanno case was dead in the water a year later," Fornell added.

"Erm, one of those assets is sat in our parking lot." McGee chimed in, both excited and worried by his discovery. "The car Miller left in our parking lot, it does still belong to Mr DiNozzo, but it's listed under items seized by the FBI."

Gibbs looked to Fornell and could almost see the vein about to blow in his forehead.

"Are you sure it was Miller, he doesn't have permission to use anything like that, how would he get it?"

"Still think all is fine Tobias?" He grinned snidely, moving back to sit behind his desk.

"Hey I do work for them, Gibbs. I kind of have to believe it when my superior tells me its being handled." Fornell hissed back following him.

"If the money's been missing all this time why bring Miller back now?"

"Information. He knows something, about the money and its connection to DiNozzo," Gibbs nudged his head at their Tony.

They didn't have all the pieces yet but they were certainly getting there. The money went missing only days' after Tony was 'held for ransom.' Miller returns to the States for the first time since going on the run and one of the first things he does is contact the man that went down for the kidnapping? He's always said; no such thing as coincidences…

"Yes, but why now?" Kate spoke up suddenly, looking like she'd been sucking on a lemon.

"She's right, twenty-five years is a long time, even for the FBI." Fornell leaned against his desk, arms folded, clearly unhappy that yet again his agency was being out smarted by NCIS.

"Wait," Kate called out, "twenty-five years! That's it!"

"Freedom of information Act!" Abby joined in, catching onto what Kate had worked out.

"Exactly," The girls grinned at each other maddeningly, before Kate turned to the rest of them and explained, "The details of the operation are due to be declassified twenty-five years after being sealed. Not only is it going to become public knowledge that the FBI lost thousands of dollars, all the seized assets will be returned."

"And the FBI are using Miller to recover the money before that happens." Gibbs nodded in approval.

"July 4th is in two days." McGee announced.

Any other time Gibbs would've tossed out a 'Ya think McGee', but despite outward appearances he was practically giddy with excitement. They were finally getting somewhere, now all they needed was to get the bastard in custody so Gibbs could interrogate him to within an inch of his life. Gibbs didn't give a damn about the FBI lost money they could lose face and suffer for being the idiots they are. All he cared about was getting answers and justice for Tony.

"Miller doesn't know where the money is," Tony offered tiredly, still sat feet up behind his desk.

He'd shown little more than a passing interest in the discussion, choosing to continue playing with his toy while the rest of them had been heavily engaged in the discovery process.

"How'd you know that DiNutso?" Fornell jumped up from his slouch and marched over to stand before him.

"Because, _Agent Fornell_, if he did he wouldn't need my help." Tony said smugly, but without any of his usual charm to take the sting out of his tone.

Gibbs' senses went on high alert, but he maintained his position by the big screen watching the scene unfold.

"You're saying you know where the money is then?" Fornell turned and looked at him, one eyebrow raised.

Gibbs just shook his head in frustration, he could see what Tobias was suggesting again and could see that Tony's attitude wasn't helping any.

Tony paused in his game to look everyone single one of them in the eye.

"No, I have no clue where the money is."

Obviously Fornell didn't by the line, hell the way he said it Gibbs wouldn't either if this was an interrogation. He didn't know what DiNozzo was playing at, but he was going to get one hell of a headslap if he starting acting up now.

"You sure about that, maybe your father told you?" Fornell continued, holding his out his hand behind his back when Gibbs took a step forward.

"Firstly he isn't my father."

"DiNozzo…" Gibbs warned.

"Secondly, my father rarely shared dinner with me, why the hell would he tell me where he hid $700,000?" Tony snapped, baring a temper they all knew existed but very rarely saw outside the integration rooms.

"Why are you so sure Miller doesn't have the money?" Fornell pressed.

"Because I got _kidnapped_ Agent Fornell, or had you forgotten about that?" Tony shot up out of his chair and smiled with false sweetness.

Gibbs stepped between them, in front of Tobias when he looked set to lay into Tony again, shaking his head telling him to drop it.

"If he knows something…" Fornell whispered pointing at Tony behind him.

"He doesn't." Gibbs promised.

"Jethro-"

"He doesn't." He reiterated, nudging his head, fighting to keep his tone light, "Kid's tired, found out some stuff and is taking it hard, I'll deal with him."

There was a beat of silence where Gibbs wasn't certain if Fornell would accept his assurances.

"You find anything out..."

"I'll let you know." Gibbs agreed, though he'd agree to sell his own mother if it got Tobias to leave right now, and walked with him towards the elevators.

"He mean that, about his dad not being his dad?"

"We're checking it out," Gibbs pushed him through the metal doors.

Fornell nodded, he could clearly see he was being pacified, but left peacefully anyway. Once he was away in the elevator Gibbs returned to the bullpen and focused his infamous glare on Tony who had retaken his seat.

"What?" Tony asked innocently after an intense minute of mutual staring.

"Mr DiNozzo claimed to the police and FBI there was a ransom. Did he actually pay it?" Gibbs asked McGee his glare on Tony unwavering.

"Yes, I have it here." McGee jumped up from his desk.

"Put it up." Gibbs finally turned away from Tony to face the plasma.

McGee hit several keys on his keyboard in quick succession and the bank statement appeared on screen seconds later.

"A payment was made from Mr DiNozzo's business account on July 1st. The receiving bank account was off shore."

Gibbs gazed at the details on the screen. Something wasn't sitting right in his gut.

"$20,000," Gibbs read the line McGee had highlighted with his mouse.

A low whistle emanating from Tony's desk drew the bullpen's attention to him.

"Not exactly the missing millions is it? But at least now we know what he meant when I was 12 and he told me, and I quote… 'I will not pay for you ever again'!" Tony spun a 360 in his chair, smiling at them madly, "another mystery solved."

"He's right it's not millions." McGee didn't smile.

"I think our house was worth more." Tony muttered to himself, his attention back on the Rubik's cube in his hands when no one rose to his bait.

"It was paid on July 1st?" Kate interjected, ignoring Tony.

"Tony wasn't found until July 2nd." Gibbs caught on to her point, realising that was what was bothering him about it, as well as the low amount.

McGee looked puzzled. Tony slapped his heels on his desk, finding the ceiling interesting as soon as Gibbs mentioned him by name in context of the victim.

"They kept him a day after receiving the money? How come the FBI didn't pick up on that?" He whispered, rechecking the details a second and third time confirming that indeed the timing of the payment wasn't even mentioned.

"It's the FBI Probie. They only cared about their money." Tony spoke glumly, lacking the hyperactivity of just a few seconds ago.

Gibbs grunted, looking expectantly between all three of them and Abby for answers.

"Why would they release him for $20,000, if they had wanted the missing money it wasn't enough," McGee asked.

Kate was shaking her head even before he'd finished his sentence.

"Your assuming the kidnappers released him, sounds more like they took the money and…" she cut her herself off, snapping her head up stunned by the realisation of her own statement and stared at DiNozzo.

Tony caught her eye, one step ahead as always and planting his feet firmly on the floor, leaned forward, folding his hands on his desk looking serious.

"Can you say body dump?" he teased, a wide painfully false smile forced across his face.

"I'm afraid I must concur my dear boy," Ducky interrupted the gathering, coming up slowly behind Abby who was closed to tears just thinking about it. "Judging from the photographs and the doctors notes the odds were against you surviving your injures."

Ducky patted Tony on the shoulder, offering a modicum of comfort in the face of such a revelation. Without warning Tony raised sad green eyes to meet his and Gibbs found he couldn't move. How close had they come to losing him, once, twice, or more times than he'd care to count? The incident with the waitress that was still so fresh in all their minds was just one of many times Tony had gotten in trouble and managed to get himself out in the nick of time. Gibbs always suspected Tony's drive to survive was ingrained in him from childhood, but he'd imagined playground brawls, not fighting for his life at six years old.

It was difficult to imagine his life without Tony in it, even after only three years. Before meeting him in Baltimore Gibbs had been on a path of systematic self-destruction, on his third divorce and would have likely been working on his forth by now if wasn't for Tony and his almost pathological need for attention. Looking out for him, training him to become an Agent and now teaching him to be a better Agent, gave Gibbs a purpose in life that case solving and boat building just didn't entirely fulfil. In fact DiNozzo had taken up so much of his free time once he'd joined NCIS Gibbs hadn't even thought about seriously dating anyone, let alone marriage.

Tony's young vulnerable persona had been the catalyst that prompted Gibbs to build a permanent team, one with people that would really care for each other, not just work together. He'd wanted to give the lonely loveable kid a family and without realising it, had created one of his own at the same time. Looking around the bullpen, everyone he really cared about was standing right there with him, even McGee was proving to be a sound fit to their little group.

Letting whatever Ducky was saying in his soothing tones wash over him Tony locked his gaze with his, making Gibbs feel obligated to wipe that mournful look from his face. Whether he'd admit it to anyone or not, he had people who depended on him now and was going to do everything in his power to keep them safe.

"Abby, work with McGee and trace the money, I want to know exactly who received it." Gibbs ordered breaking the contemplative mood of the room.

Abby nodded, she had tears in her eyes and left without a word, not even waiting for McGee who was still at his desk, staring intently at something on his computer.

"Kate, find out who called in that anonymous tip." He snapped, then breaking the secretive atmosphere, shouted "McGee, you still here?!"

"Umm Boss I'm going, I just needed to find the security footage from the parking … going-" McGee swallowed, freezing up in the face of Gibbs' stone cold glare.

"You know what I don't get?" Tony asked suddenly.

Gibbs looked to Ducky, nodding his head in the direction of the elevators indicating he was to leave and thankfully the doctor understood his silent message, wasting no time in ushering McGee out as quickly as possible with him.

"Kate-" He was about to send Kate away too, in hopes that eliminating DiNozzo's audience would contain the meltdown he sensed coming, but he wasn't quick enough.

"Why everyone keeps giving me the pitying looks, you know? I mean come on! How many people can say they were kidnapped?" Tony continued his voice a notch louder than before, boarding on the hysterical. "Sure sounds like fun, like a movie even, which you'd think I'd enjoy right?" Tony laughed and launched himself up out of his chair, opening his desk draw he threw the Rubik's cube inside before slamming it shut

If Gibbs was the type to panic he'd start right now, because the minute his little tirade stopped Tony gave up on staring at him and Kate and moved into the middle of the bullpen, looking ready to use the entire squad room as his open forum.

"…But surprisingly not, and what was that other thing? Oh yeah," he started to shout, pacing the floor, "I find out my _father_ is nothing but a big fat poser who only carried on the charade of pretending to be my dad so he could live off my mother's money." He paused, but only long enough to suck in breath, "but then who can blame him, who would be happy," he frowned, faking understanding, "I'm not the son he thought he was getting, nobody wants a stupid, nosy little brat who can't keep his mouth shut. You don't even want me, not really. I should just pack up my stuff now and let you find someone who isn't completely screwed up, because let's face it, I'm definitely more trouble then I'm worth." Out of breath, voice horse, Tony finished with the worst kind of self-recrimination. "I should have died in that damn alley."

Almost everyone in the squad room who was listening daren't move, let alone breathe, but Gibbs stepped forward.

"You finished?" He asked dangerously.

Tony glared at him, his normally bright eyes hard and cold.

"The mob, my dad, his friend, hell maybe even the FBI for all I know, they tried to kill me!" He snapped, "Might actually be trying again in fact given recent events, because let's face it," he smiled insincerely, "the FBI do like to send crazy killers our way in the name of national security."

"Tony-"

Kate injected, which only served to transfer his anger onto her.

"No Kate!" he shouted in her face, "I think I'm entitled to be a little pissed off! Now why don't you all go do something useful so I can get my life back and EVERYONE can mind their own GOD DAMN business!"

Reminding Gibbs of Ari was not Tony's best move, but what sent Gibbs into a proper tailspin was Tony acting like a spoiled brat. After all the self-pity and accusations that hit his final nerve.

"DINOZZO!" Gibbs shouted so loud everyone who had been watching the outburst around the squad room suddenly had other places to be, "my office, NOW!"

Gibbs immediately walked away without waiting for a response, leaving Tony to chew on his cheek, flaming with embarrassment. He sent his own steely eyed glare to the other agents in the office as he headed towards the elevator, making it clear they were to get on with what they were doing and mind their own business. Mad as hell didn't even scratch the surface of describing how he was feeling and motivated to put an end to this ridiculous behaviour Gibbs decided he was done with the softly, softly approach. He'd tried it Ducky's way, sat down and talked to him. Now, now he was going to deal with Tony his way.

Entering the elevator with an air of privilege and calm as if none of this was tearing him up inside was the easy part. Calming down after he'd stripped Tony a new one, that was going to take some doing. Tony was right behind him, entering the car head down, obviously still angry, but very aware of the idiot he'd just made out of himself. The elevator started moving as soon as the doors closed, almost as if summoned by Gibbs' will and not someone pressing the button a level up. Regardless, he slammed on the emergency stop, sending the car into temporary darkness before the back-up light kicked in. Tony was practically vibrating in front of him, lip trembling with the effort of holding everything in, looks of hurt, confusion and betrayal all warring for dominance on his face.

The slap rocked Tony's head forward and back, his hair flying away with it.

"Thank you, boss." Tony uttered in his usual overly grateful way.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Gibbs whispered into his ear, his face up close to Tony's clearly making him feel very uncomfortable.

"I'm fine." Tony snapped, wrapping his arms across his chest in a protective stance.

Gibbs studied him and laughed humourlessly, leaning back.

"I doubt that." He said with a sad smile, amazed at just how stubborn his boy could be sometimes and seeing why Ducky always claimed they were so very much alike.

"Okay I'm losing it," he said soundly, "that what you want to hear?!"

"No … DiNozzo." Gibbs said with feeling, eyebrows raised.

It took only seconds for Tony to crumple upon realising he'd just snapped at him again. For all the time they'd worked and lived together Tony hadn't once spoken to him with anything less than the utmost respect.

"Crap Boss, I'm – I didn't-" Tony cut himself off with a wince, dropping to the floor in a crouch and covering his face with both hands, "What the hell am I supposed to do now?" He whined.

Well aware Tony was talking on a grander scale than he could even begin to approach with a cool head, Gibbs sort to minimalize the damage. Knees be damned he lowered himself to the floor, getting eye level with Tony.

"We find out what happened to you and why. We find Miller." He stated evenly, pulling one palm away from Tony's face so he'd see the sincerity in what he was saying.

Tony's face was still firmly hidden under the other hand though, and not liking the defeated body language Gibbs grasped the palm in his hand tighter and dragged him up again.

"I'm sure if it really were that simple, we'd have him in interrogation by now instead of the man that's been masquerading as my father for the last thirty years." Tony let go of Gibbs' hand and backed up, leaning against the elevator wall to create some distance.

Gibbs considered his next words carefully. He had originally dragged him in here to yell some sense into him, but since Tony had done the yelling and instantly felt guilty Gibbs hadn't the heart to hurt him anymore than he already was.

"Do you trust me DiNozzo?"

"Of course Boss," Tony replied instantly. "You know I didn't mean any of that…" He shrugged self-consciously.

He did, but it was nice to hear it.

"Then let me help you." He stated firmly, making it very clear with his tone that the tantrums had to stop.

Tony looked at the closed doors, knowing the squad room was on the other side.

"This is worse than a nightmare." He said distantly. "I just want to go home, get everything back to normal."

"Miller's going to make a mistake soon, when he does we'll take him down," Gibbs closed the gap between them, refusing Tony the advantage of personal space.

"Your gut telling you that boss?" Tony's tone altered on 'boss' managing to once again add a more familial connotation to the title.

Gibbs stepped forward again, leaving only a few inches between them now and looked Tony directly in the eye so he could see he wasn't bull-shitting him.

"It never lies."

Tony smiled sadly and shied away.

"Well maybe you should ask your gut what he wants from me, because I'm kind of afraid to."

Gibbs flinched slightly at the fearful admission coming from his normally resilient young agent. Taking a step back, Gibbs restarted the elevator and regarded him seriously.

"Well Kate knows a way we can find out."

…

It didn't take much for Tony to agree to a meeting with Kate's friend's hypnotising shrink. Aside from Gibbs possibly not letting him out of the elevator until he agreed to try, he really wanted to know what happened to him and didn't trust Senior to tell them the truth, which was their only other option at the moment. The fact that Gibbs was willing to make the deal for protection with him if Tony had wanted was touching, but no matter how desperate he was for answers, giving that man what he wanted was the last thing he intended to do and Gibbs compromising his work ethic in the process wouldn't be worth it. _He_ wasn't worth it.

Gibbs had slapped him silly when he'd actually said that. He could still feel the sting in the back of his head, but guessed he deserved to, self-pity wasn't a pretty look and Tony should have known the boss wasn't about to coddle him, especially not after his soapbox moment in the bullpen.

But now that he'd had time to think things through, his options were looking pretty bleak, and it only got worse when Tony clapped eyes on the middle aged strawberry-blonde beauty with the visitors badge stepping off the elevator into the squad room.

"A redhead Kate?" Tony whined, and stomped his feet, "You're killing me here!"

"DiNozzo get your mind out of the gutter," Kate chastised him, glancing over the divide to take a look.

"It's not my mind that's going to be in the gutter," he groused indicating Gibbs who was walking across the mezzanine towards MTAC.

The woman Tony had rightly pegged as the psychiatrist headed their way and he jumped up from his perch against Kate's desk and ran, skidding to a stop behind McGee's and sitting in the Probie's chair, randomly hitting the keyboard pretending to type.

"I'm looking for Special Agent DiNozzo?" The redhead questioned pleasantly upon entering the bullpen. "I was told this was his desk."

"Ah, yes, he… err… he'll be right back." Tony did his best Probie impression.

Kate glared at him with that chastising kindergarten teacher look she often had and opened her mouth to say something, but before a syllable could leave her lips the fates aligned in Tony's favour.

"Agent DiNozzo!" Tony called out, waving his arms at the unsuspecting McGee as he rounded the corner.

"What?" McGee blurted, realising Tony was talking to him. "Why are you-"

"T-o-n-y," he over enunciated, nodding. "This lady is here to see you."

McGee screwed his face up looking very confused, firstly at Tony, sitting behind his desk and then at the woman stood by Tony's.

"Okay… Pro-bie." McGee replied awkwardly, catching on.

Kate dropped her head into her hands, clearly not knowing whether to laugh or cry at the situation. Tony didn't care which as long as she kept it shut until he could convince McGee to be hypnotised in his place. He may have reasoned with himself that this was a necessary evil, but that didn't make him any less reluctant to the idea and right now he'd pay a million dollars to not have to go through with it.

"Agent DiNozzo?" The redhead asked McGee, holding out her hand.

McGee nodded nervously, eyeing Tony as he lifted his own hand and opened his mouth.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked.

"Yes boss!" Tony replied on auto pilot.

He grimaced and cursed under his breath, Gibbs had been sneaky. He'd taken the elevator down instead of the stairs and so Tony hadn't seen him approach. He was now leaning over the partition behind McGee's desk looking down on where he was currently sitting.

"Erm boss…" Tony squeaked, shoulders hunched up to his ears not turning around. "I can explain."

Tony prepared for a slap, but luckily the presence of a pretty red head saved him from the impending headache.

"McGee! Get back to work." Gibbs walked into the bullpen and greeted the amused shrink by Tony's desk, holding out his hand. "Agent Gibbs."

"Mary, I believe you're expecting me." She returned sweetly, with pleasure.

Tony gave McGee the death stare as he approached his own desk. Behind him he could see Gibbs smiling at the shrink, then after a brief word they set off together towards the stairs.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked again, indicating with just a look that Tony should hurry up and follow like a good boy.

Tony stood up, kicking McGee's chair away. He sneered at Kate who was grinning maddeningly as he passed her desk.

"Yeah, Kate, thanks, thanks so much, my boss and the woman I'm supposed to tell all my secrets to… I'll be having those images in my head for weeks." He stormed off after them, "They'll probably bond over their mutual acquaintance, I'll tell her everything, they'll date, get married and then she'll tell him everything…"

"Di-No-zzo!" Gibbs all out shouted from the top of the stairs, his anger emphasised in each syllable.

"Coming boss!" Tony launched into a sprint, ignoring his smirking teammates and leaving the bullpen with far less grace than he'd planned.

He caught up with Gibbs and Mary the shrink outside the briefing room nearest the director's office. They entered the room together, Tony with some trepidation and Gibbs glaring at him with that 'don't you dare embarrass me in front of the pretty lady' look. He knew all too well that Kids could make or break a potential date. Tony just wasn't too happy about his role as the 'kid' in this twisted little scenario.

"Make yourself comfy Agent DiNozzo." Mary offered him, setting her handbag down and rifling through it.

Tony chose to hover in the middle of the room instead, arms hanging limply by his sides, feeling like a man being asked to confession before the electric chair.

"You know, actually," Tony stepped backwards, aiming for the door, "I think I'm good, I'll probably remember everything in a couple days anyway, why rush?"

He laughed nervously, and was halfway to backing out the room when too very strong hands grabbed his shoulders from behind and pushed him forward then down into a waiting chair.

"Or I could just take a seat right here, thank-you boss…"

Despite his inner thoughts Tony smiled broadly, in no doubt everyone in the room could see just how false it was.

"It's okay to be a little scared." Mary comforted, taking the seat opposite him, seemingly having found what she wanted in her purse in the form of a notepad and pen.

He had to give it to her she had one of those voices. If she weren't a shrink Mary could have been a radio agony aunt, all smooth talking and relaxing to put you at ease … or asleep.

"You're doing it already?" Tony blurted his sudden scary thought.

"Doing what Special Agent-"

"Tony." He interrupted her, hoping to avoid the 'you can call me such in such' rouse to friendliness.

"Doing what Tony?" She smiled pleasantly.

The pleased smile stunned him at first, but then it registered. Great, personal connection made. She'd tricked him into that. Taking her time over saying his name had made him want to quicken her up, sooner done, sooner gone, but now they were on first name basis and you couldn't just run out on someone that was calling you by your first name. He usually loved it when people called him Special Agent too, actually made him feel special for a change. Damn her.

"Think we can get this over with then?" He snapped, annoyed with himself, her and Gibbs for getting him to agree to this.

Tony hadn't noticed, but his leg was bouncing up and down rapidly. Gibbs had though because he gave up his perch across the room to sit down next to him. The first Tony knew of his intention was when one strong hand landed on his knee, stilling his nervous ministrations just like he had in the restaurant with Senior earlier this morning. And oh God was that only this morning? The day had been long and without an end in sight, not in the least because Senior was still sat down stairs in interrogation. Whether he got set free or not probably rested on what he remembered. Not too much pressure then…

"We aren't going to rush this, we're going to chat first, I'll ask a few questions, then we'll take it from there okay?"

"So no hypnotising?" He confirmed wanting to be clear what was going to happen, because if he went back down to the bullpen and starting barking or clucking there was going to be hell to pay.

"No, I promise." Mary answered sincerely, folding her hands on her lap.

That settled him, knowing she wasn't going to do a sneaky on him and put him under without him realising. After everything that had happened today he really wasn't sure this was such a good idea, but Gibbs' reassuring presence by his side convinced him to go through with it. People wanted answers and he was responsible for providing them, he could do this.

"Okay then, ask away…"

…

Kate slammed the receiver down yet again. Another dead end. She'd been working solidly on trying to either confirm or deny Senior as the one who made the anonymous tip, but had come up empty. She'd been going through witnesses spoken to that day in the hopes someone would remember seeing him in the area, but that was her last lead and the number was out of service. Dishearten she was ready to get up and fetch another coffee when a shadow crossed her desk, blocking out the low early evening sunshine.

"Katelyn?"

She looked up to see Ducky hovering over her desk.

"What are you doing up here Ducky?"

"I have a favour to ask," he glanced around the room before returning his attention to her, "is Tony with the psychiatrist?"

"Yeah, and Gibbs is in with him."

"Good." Ducky nodded. "I need your help with something."

"What?"

Ducky looked thoughtful for a moment, causing Kate to think he was up to something, something Gibbs definitely wasn't going like.

"When Tony came to see me early this morning he wanted a look at Mr Bower's body." He said cagily.

Kate frowned and stopped what she was doing to focus solely on Ducky.

"Did you let him?"

"I could hardly stop him, but rest assured he did very well, no signs of distress like we've witnessed previously." He smiled proudly, "but I fear it wasn't a simple test of one's resolve."

"What then?"

"He was looking for something, I asked him of course and he described a tattoo that he claims to remember seeing on his assailant's forearm, two wavy lines to be precise."

"He saw? Or _he_ _saw_?" She asked with air quotes.

Ducky nodded at her insinuation, but wasn't deterred by her scepticism.

"It had to do with a dream he had, I'm assuming about the night he was kidnapped given the subject of his interest. Did he say anything to you?"

"No," Kate shook her head sadly and then remembered what he'd said when he'd first walked in "I mean yeah, he mentioned something about having nightmares all night, but… I didn't ask further."

"Well his reaction after checking the body was peculiar, if anything he seemed more afraid…"

"I don't understand."

"I did the autopsy. Mr Bower had no tattoos on his arms, wavy lines or otherwise."

Kate didn't quite know what to say to that.

"Well could they have been removed?" She suggested as a long shot.

"No, I'd have noticed." Ducky looked even more pensive.

"So Tony's dream was wrong." She shrugged.

Kate knew Ducky was one for taking theories to their limits, but she doubted even he'd believe a dream over cold hard facts. Abby on the other hand…

"Or he was right." Ducky said with a twinkle in his eye that both excited and terrified her.

"Ducky what do you know?" Kate whispered, coming to the understanding that Ducky had already formulated a theory before coming up here and was merely using her to confirm his facts.

For a moment she didn't think he was going to share. However giving him a Gibbs worthy glare paid off tenfold when he bent low to her desk, whispering under his breath so only she could hear.

"Did you happen to notice when in interrogation Mr DiNozzo rolled his shirt sleeve part way?"

"No," Kate shrugged.

"Well while Anthony was in autopsy and you, McGee and Jethro were outside with that car I checked on something…"

Kate's eyes widened, this was what they'd been talking about when Gibbs had sent her away to fetch Tony.

"What did you find?" She asked with bated breath.

"Mr DiNozzo has a small tattoo on his inner forearm, exactly where Anthony described in his dream," Ducky pointed at the exact spot on his own arm.

"Don't tell me." Kate sighed dismayed that she may already know the answer.

"Two wavy lines," Ducky confirmed apologetically.

Kate sat back and mentally ran through the possibilities. Up to now they'd been working on the basis of his father being involved somehow, but despite having found his DNA at the crime scene, Kate still wasn't convince he was capable of hurting a child in the way Tony had been hurt. All the evidence, physical and profiled suggested Mr DiNozzo was possibly one of the sleaziest people she'd ever met, but incapable of taking any kind of action himself. If anything he was more likely to pay someone to do the dirty work, but even that seemed like a stretch considering he seemed to value his own life over everything else. Her working theory at the moment was that whatever happened to Tony, Senior just didn't have the balls to stop it.

"Ducky, that could mean anything." Kate hated to dismiss his theory, but it just didn't fit, "Tony could have super imposed that image onto his kidnapper subconsciously for all we know, his dream wouldn't stand up in court."

"This isn't about court." Ducky dismissed her rationale like a wise old grandfather humouring anyone who disagreed with him. "It's about Anthony remembering."

"Ok, so he's remembered his dad's tattoo. Even if what you're suggesting is true. That would mean Mr DiNozzo orchestrated all of this, successfully fooling both the local police and FBI." She wanted to add even Gibbs, knowing that his thoughts most likely mirrored her own otherwise Gibbs would have said something as soon as Ducky told him. "Tony's father maybe many things, but one thing I'm sure he isn't is a criminal mastermind."

"You don't have to be a criminal mastermind to convince people a lie is the truth Katelyn." Ducky winked at her.

She had no idea what he meant by that, but was certain it had something insightful to do with _their_ DiNozzo.

"Well that's all well and good, but right now Miller is out there after him and Tony still remembers nothing useful about why, that's why he's doing this, he wouldn't be up there if he remembered." She was getting irritated just thinking about it and offered Ducky a wan smile in apology for that little outburst.

Ducky of course didn't take it personally and continued undeterred from his point.

"On the contrary my dear, I fear Anthony may remember more than he realises."

…

Tony made to leave the room after answering a lot of personal questions that had taken the fight right out of him. Gibbs saw him to the door and noticing he was looking a little pale ordered him to seek out Ducky. When Tony paused on the threshold looking panicked that he wouldn't be leaving to, Gibbs assured him with a light tap under his chin that he wouldn't be far behind. He watched Tony walk slowly down the corridor, eventually shutting the door when he reached the stairs and turning back to Mary.

"Well he's not what I expected." She spoke with a smile, standing up and smoothing down her tight skirt.

Gibbs didn't need to say anything, a small lopsided grin would tell anyone looking he knew what she was talking about.

"Will he remember what we need him too?" He asked her.

"He'll remember as much or as little as he wants to, I have no control over that." Mary answered him cryptically.

"What _do_ you have control over?" He unintentionally snapped, her seemingly carefree attitude towards the problem annoying him.

"Where I have dinner tonight," she said suggestively in response, not taking his tone personally.

Gibbs' fleeting anger melted away at the sound of her soothing voice and he chuckled to himself, recognising that hot under the collar feeling.

"Doc," he shook his head.

"Agent Gibbs…" She purred, confident and flirty.

Gibbs met her gaze and they stood face to face, the sexual tension simmering between them. He coughed and backed away, breaking the staring contest, he needed to get his mind off her skirt and back onto their case.

"Can you help him?" He asked again, determined to get a useful answer out of her.

"That depends on several factors" she smiled kindly, backing off, but letting him know she wasn't giving up on him yet, "hypnotism doesn't work unless the person being hypnotised is open to the idea and I sense underneath the smiles he is quite a tense young man that won't give up control easily."

"You have good senses." He commended her profiling skills, a lot of people underestimated DiNozzo because of that very reason.

"Of course the younger the person at the time of the event the more difficult it is for them to successfully separate fact from fiction," She started conversationally, "His behavioural age is going to be a factor, after speaking with him I'd say behaviourally Tony's barely old enough to drive a car." She paused upon noticing his amused expression. "This doesn't surprise you?"

"I wasn't sure he'd reached puberty yet." Gibbs joked, recalling the many times he'd questioned Tony's maturity over the years.

Mary shared his grin briefly before suddenly turning serious, which sent Gibbs' gut into a nose dive.

"I can see he has an immature side, but that's not exactly what I'm referring to." Mary indicated they should sit.

Gibbs pulled out a chair, sat down and waited patiently for her to explain.

"Behavioural age is different to chronological age because it focuses on a person's mental and emotional development and not how old their physical body is."

Gibbs' unease with the new turn of their conversation must have shown on his face because Mary leaned across the table and touched his hand before continuing to explain.

"I betting Tony can often behave and react childishly, beyond what could be considered normal for his base personality." Seeing he wasn't getting it she hastened to explain further, "Does he get easily upset when you chose another agent over him for a task? Fights others for your attention and approval, wants constant reassurance that you care about him?"

_You do care right? I want you to say you care…_

"That's just DiNozzo." Gibbs shrugged uneasily, shoving the memory of rescuing Tony from the sewers far out of his mind, along with the many other memories her words had invoked.

"No," she said teasingly, "that's the behaviour of someone who is emotionally underdeveloped."

"You saying there's something wrong with him?" Gibbs snapped, annoyed with her pandering yet again.

"Absolutely not," she assured, her frown suggesting she was offended by his presumptuousness, which given her ease of flirting had to take some doing, while her tone remained smooth as if everything was just fine. "What _I am_ suggesting is that sometimes his inappropriate or juvenile behaviour may not be preventable."

How many times had he growled at Tony? Hit him in the head? Been generally frustrated with his childishness? Now this shrink was telling him he didn't know any better, Gibbs didn't know how to respond to that.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you," Mary patted his arm, and left her hand there. "I get a little carried away with my theories sometimes."

"I should introduce you to Dr Mallard." Gibbs deadpanned, still a little in shock.

"I can tell you care about him" she smiled, interpreting his comment as acceptance of her apology.

Mary nodded at him approvingly and it unnerved him how this woman he had known for less than an hour could already read him so well.

"You know what's strange here though," she stood up, reaching for her things and slipping easily back into arrogant professional mode, "For him to be so far behind his chronological age Tony would had to have suffered a trauma at an early age, I've only ever seen a gap this pronounced in children who were institutionalised or spent time in jail, but given his position those both seem doubtful scenarios so..."

Gibbs smiled nervously.

"He was sent to boarding school when he was eleven." He offered, silently wondering if he had bothered to look deeper, would he have discovered this long ago.

"I could debate the merit of boarding schools," Mary frowned, "but even then the child has interactions with peers and authority figures, they don't usually cause such stunted emotional development…"

"His mom died when he was eight and his dad," Gibbs bit down on the word, knowing the titled didn't hold true anymore, if it ever did, "was mostly absent. Aside from a holiday when he was twelve, where he left him alone in a hotel room for two days, Tony didn't have much contact. He spent a lot of time alone."

"How is it you know all this Agent Gibbs?" Mary eyed him speculatively.

"Would you believe he told me?" Gibbs replied cautiously, keeping his tone light.

"You've only known each other a few years, there's no way the personality I just interviewed," she pointed decisively towards the door, "even acknowledges the neglect, let alone be able to share the details with anyone."

Gibbs remained silent. For some reason knowing Tony's lack of truthfulness when it came to personal topics wasn't anything to do with trust made him feel better. As much as he disliked shrinks he was steadily warming up to this one. And it wasn't just because of the red hair.

"Agent Gibbs, you are an enigma." She said, turning her tone back to flirting.

"You going to help him doc?" Gibbs shifted the conversation back to Tony.

"I can certainly try."

…

"Gibbs, Ducky wants you." Kate shouted as soon as she saw him coming down the stairs, "how'd it go?"

"She's getting set up in the family room," he said arriving at his desk and glancing back up the stairs.

"And Tony?" She asked hopefully, given she'd watched him walked across the mezzanine and enter the elevator looking out of it, but fail to appear in the bullpen.

Gibbs gave her a look she couldn't quite qualify, if pushed she'd say it was somewhere between fear and cluelessness, which just wasn't right for Gibbs.

"Where are we on the case?" He ignored her question.

"I've had no luck tracking down any of the witnesses or those canvased during the police investigation of Bower." Kate retook her seat and pointed at her screen with a pen, Gibbs gave her a sideways glare. "However I'm sure I can find something."

"Jethro, thank god I found you in time." Ducky interrupted, walking quickly through the squad room to stand in front of Gibbs' desk.

Kate shuffled a few papers, alternately turning back to her computer screen pretending to work while watching the interaction between the two.

"In time for what, Duck?" Gibbs stood and tried to move around the doctor, but somehow, for such a small guy he managed to block his way effectively.

"Don't let him go through with this." Ducky said with passion.

Kate gave up pretending to work and gave the men her full concentration.

"Duck what are you talking about?"

Gibbs sounded like he'd had enough, like the rest of them. In fact if they kept working at this pace it wouldn't only be Tony in danger, one of them was going to crack eventually and Kate was trying very hard to make sure it wasn't her.

"Tony of course, let the lad be, you can get the information another way."

Gibbs drew his lips into a tight line.

"We need to know what happened to him Duck. He needs to know."

"He can't do this Jethro," Ducky shook his head frantically.

"Yes Duck, he can." Gibbs nodded and moved Ducky aside so he could pass, "Tony's strong, he can handle it."

"Normally I'd trust to your judgement, but not this time, you must stop him." Ducky practically chased Gibbs from the bullpen. "He'd do anything you asked of him and you know it."

Kate watched Gibbs begin to ascend the stairs.

"Not anything Duck." He called back, loud enough for her and Ducky to hear.

"Jethro think about it, you're asking him to remember in detail a traumatic experience." Ducky shouted, causing yet another scene in the usually uneventful squad room.

Kate had the sudden thought that if this was any other situation Tony would be selling tickets and waited with baited breath as Gibbs turned and walked back down the stairs to stand in front of Ducky in front of her desk.

"I have." He stared Ducky down, "and so has he."

"Then are you really willing to put him through it again?" Ducky snapped, braver than she'd be in his shoes.

In the nearly year she'd been at NCIS not once had Kate known Gibbs to so blatantly go against Ducky's advice, but there was always a first time for everything.

"His life is in danger Duck and he wants to why." Gibbs said softly.

Done with this conversation Gibbs patted Ducky on his shoulder and walked away. Kate watched him retreat and saw Ducky's shoulders fall. There was absolutely nothing she could say.

…

Tony snuck into the small room hoping Gibbs and the shrink were too busy flirting with each other to notice him or the time. Gibbs had called him 30 minutes ago ordering him to the family room, which as the name suggested was usually reserved for breaking bad news to families, but despite saying he'd be right there Tony had found his feet firmly planted unable to move from the sidewalk outside the NCIS building. Unfortunately both Gibbs and Mary the shrink were standing in the middle of the room eagle eyeing the door with twin expressions of exasperation.

"Am I late?" He asked apprehensively, adding a small nervous chuckle when he didn't receive a verbal response.

Gibbs held his gaze, face blank and making it near impossible for Tony to believe he wasn't already in trouble for disappearing on them.

"I needed some air." He excused lamely, subconsciously patting his jacket pocket to ensure the cigarettes he'd bummed off Mark at security were still safely hidden from view.

Mary looked the least bothered by his tardiness so Tony focused on her, offering one of his brightest, if not most sincere smiles. She gave him a knowing smile back, which gave him pause. Even more reason to dread what was to come. The woman was clearly a quick study and he had no doubt she'd already classified him as having some kind of untreatable syndrome, all that remained was for her to file his commitment papers.

She pulled a chair away from the table and placed it next to the narrow couch positioned under the window.

"Tony I want you to lie down here," Mary sat down and patted the seat cushion.

"Really?" He laughed, couldn't help it.

"Too cliché?"

"Well-"

"DiNozzo."

Gibbs' low growl had him dropping the movie quote he was about to wow them with and reverting to the more often used staple, 'yes boss'.

"Okay Tony, I want you to relax." Mary said once he'd settled, albeit uncomfortably on the hard couch.

It seemed whoever had the budget for furniture at NCIS was all about the looks, not comfort. Swedish furniture was not meant for the long term that was for sure.

"I can do that." He eventually answered her, keeping his thoughts on the upholstery to himself.

Tony sensed despite this being all about him Gibbs would have even less tolerance for his inane babbling than usual. He'd noticed that the boss seemed to be dealing with this about as well as him, which was odd. He got that as a member of team Gibbs this was not a cake walk, but the level of upset it seemed to be causing just didn't make much sense. To the point that he felt he needed to make Gibbs feel better and if shutting up and getting on with it helped, Tony would be willing to try.

"Now close your eyes, relax, and count backwards from 100…"

Tony coughed nervously, rolled his eyes to the side and caught sight of Gibbs perched against the table. He nodded and smiled, the simple act instilling hope into Tony that had been lacking of late. Taking one deep breath he shifted, relaxed and closed his eyes…

When Tony opened his eyes again it was to darkness. Lying still for a moment to centre himself he felt around. He was lying down and could feel the carpet fibres beneath his finger nails as he ran them over the floor. Branching out his hand touched something slick and wet, it warmed his hand and without thinking Tony raised the hand to his face. Lightening flashed outside, illuminating the room and the immediate grumble of thunder that followed drowned out the scream which sprang forth from his throat. Tony quickly wiped the blood from his hands onto his pant leg. It was then he noticed how small he looked and that he was wearing losing fitting long shorts instead of his usual suit. Gazing around Tony took in the familiar French décor and recognised it as the scene from his dream the night before. Standing up in what he now knew was his childhood bedroom Tony turned to step around the blood pooled on the floor, freezing when he caught sight of a man stood in the doorway brandishing a knife…

TBC…

A/N: thanks for all your reviews, favourites and follows. Guess you can tell I've been watching too much Criminal Minds while writing this chapter, gotta love Dr Reid! As usual hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing, cheers - till next time, which I hope to be sooner than later ;) xxx


	11. Chapter 11

Gibbs paced the room edgily. Twenty-six minutes and forty-eight seconds since he'd made the call ordering Tony to meet them in the family room. He'd taken his phone out several times with the intention of calling again and threatening to fire his ass if DiNozzo didn't appear in the next ten seconds, however Mary being the excellent judge of character she was proving to be, talked him into waiting. Very few people had been able to talk him into anything in his life and of those only one was still around now, the same person currently causing him grief. Walking the length of the small room again, he was close to going postal when the door finally eased open.

The 'where the hell have you been?' was on the tip of his tongue, but recognised that made him sound more like the worry parent than ever and would reveal too much about his true feelings at the moment. Tony needed to believe he believed everything would be fine, so true to form he opted to glare at his subordinate instead, which was much more effective in producing the desired level of chastisement for his lateness, where in DiNozzo had no clue if he was angry with, or worried about, him.

Tony snuck in and hovered coyly by the door, as if hoping they hadn't noticed his absence. He needed his head shrinking if he believed for one minute Gibbs wasn't going to notice his every move at the moment. Gibbs up held the glare, purely in exasperation now as he tracked DiNozzo's slow skulk across the room towards the only sofa, channelling every nice bone in his body so as not to, as Mary had advised, put Tony too much on edge. Apparently she needed him relaxed otherwise this wasn't going to work.

"Am I late?" DiNozzo asked turning to face them both, megawatt smile covering his obvious insecurity.

Gibbs held his gaze, forcing his face into a blank expression so as not to ruin anything they were going to try here. He doubted it was working, DiNozzo had the uncanny ability to know exactly when he was in trouble, if not always the why. Gibbs missed the excuse Tony was babbling because he was too busy working at portraying a calmer exterior. He saw him subconsciously pat his pocket and instantly identifying the square shaped packet knew the reason Tony was late - he'd gone seeking a vice. Stupid kid that he was, you'd think being a Phys. Ed. major he'd know better, but impulse usually went ahead of sense when it came to DiNozzo.

Shaking his head, praying for strength Gibbs' attention was drawn to Mary when she pulled a chair out from the table nearest the door and placed it next to the sofa.

"Tony, I want you to lie down here," She patted the seat cushions.

Gibbs looked at Tony and almost laughed at his incredulous expression.

"DiNozzo," he nudged his head encouragingly when it looked he was about to protest.

The hesitation in his stepped had Gibbs narrowing his eyes and he had sudden thought Tony might not want him to stay and witness this.

"Okay Tony, I want you to relax." Mary said once he'd settled.

She continued to speak in soft calming tones, instructing him to think of somewhere he felt safe and count backwards from 100. Gibbs hovered in the background, all set to leave, but caught Tony's eye first. He saw the unabashed fear in his expression and knew he couldn't abandon him, not now. Perching himself against the table he nodded and forced a smile, hopefully sending that message of support Tony clearly so desperately needed. He then watched him slowly close his eyes and start to count.

Gibbs didn't move, not a muscle for the whole ten minutes it took Mary to declare Tony 'suggestible'. His instinctual thought was that you didn't need hypnotism for that, enough attention and pizza would have the same effect.

Everything seemed to be going well, enlightened and oddly humbled by Tony's choice of 'safe place' he avoided thinking too much about it. They were getting close to asking the questions Gibbs was keen to hear the answers too when Tony's breathing suddenly increased.

"Tony?" Mary called out.

"What's wrong?" He asked, alerted to the change in her tone.

"He's panicking." She stressed, picking up Tony's hand. "His heart rate's increasing rapidly."

"You've barely started." He grumbled taking a step closer even though there was nothing he could do.

"It means whatever was at the forefront of his mind, he's gone straight there, he's just scared." She attempted to reassure.

It didn't work. Gibbs drew his expression into a worried frown, feeling no need to hide his concerns.

"Well then do something." He barked at her.

She nodded, ignoring his tone completely.

"Tony." Mary called out again, holding his hand close to her chest, fingers placed on the pulse point. "Remember your safe place…"

Gibbs saw Tony shift a little, a pinched look on his face that eventually evened out.

"Okay," Tony squeaked.

It was the first time Tony had spoken differently since going under and the high pitched tone nearly knocked Gibbs off his feet. He sounded, well… like a child. Mary had expected it no doubt and must have sensed his surprise. She turned briefly towards him, indicating he should take a seat, but instead of going back to his perch Gibbs rested against the wall next to the sofa by Tony's head.

"Now Tony, tell me what you see…"

There was silence as Tony sank deeper into the couch cushions, relaxing.

"Gibbs."

…

Tony screwed his eyes shut and pulled his knees to his chest the minute he saw the knife. Shaking uncontrollably he wished himself away as fast as possible. Without warning the room suddenly spun, Tony felt it as sure as he felt the wind against his face, as if powered by his own desperate desire to leave his nightmare. Everything stilled just as suddenly as it started, daring to open one eye his chest heaved with relief when he saw the man, the blood – the knife! - had been swapped with something much more pleasant. He was back where he'd started and recognising the home as surely he would his own apartment breathe sigh of relief.

Tony pushed himself up from the floor and walked around. Warm sunshine swam in through the glass making up part of the front door, the living room being basked in the same golden glow creating an image of dancing dust in the air. It was quiet, which wasn't unusual for this place, but something seemed off. Entering the kitchen Tony noticed something strange about his point of view that had been different from before. He was looking up at everything. Edging forward, even straining to stand as tall as he could Tony could barely see above the counter top. Frowning, he was about to leave the room when a high pitch whistling permeated the air, disturbing the peaceful quiet of the house. It didn't take him long to realise it was the kettle on the stove, and Tony instinctually reached out to remove it.

He snatched his hand back with a wail and grabbed his wrist where he'd burnt it on the open flames. Tears sprang to his eyes, but not because of the searing pain. The cry that had issued from his own mouth didn't sound like him, scared beyond reason Tony sucked in a breath.

Before he could truly assimilate the situation he found himself flying through the air, the floor moving away from him at speed. Tony tensed at the hands gripping him firmly around the waist, and though disorientated with the confirmation that he wasn't his usual 6ft tall 180lb self he didn't feel the slightest bit scared.

Hitched into two strong supporting arms Tony was forced to face the person who held him.

"Boss?" He blurted, snapping his jaw shut upon hearing the high pitched squeak which had emitted from his own mouth.

But Gibbs didn't seem surprised in the least, with his voice or his size. He didn't answer him either. Holding him securely, supporting him comfortably against his hip Gibbs walked back though the living room, heading for the basement. Tony instinctually wrapped both arms around his neck, not ashamed in the least of his clinginess. Being carried, everything looking so big all of a sudden was extremely disorientating. Gibbs adjusted his hold, hitching one arm under his butt as he opened the door and descended the stairs into the dark basement. The smell of sawdust assaulted his senses and feeling suddenly tired Tony rested his head on Gibbs' strong shoulders and closed his eyes…

…

June 30th 1978

"Think this will work?" Shauna asked, hefting the bleach from the top shelf of the DiNozzo's laundry room.

"Its full proof," Tony exclaimed with delight, standing on his tip toes and pouring it into the washing machine drum. "No way she'll get a new one before tomorrow night."

"I still can't believe your mom really makes you wear it," Shauna exclaimed, face screwed up in disgust at the navy sailor suit being slowly drenched in bleach.

Tony looked up at Shauna sat on top of the counter, legs swinging back and forth and assessed her own attire of netted skirt, unlaced boots and several of her mom's gold chains around her neck, not to mention the blue eye shadow.

"This is fashion," she started seeing his disbelieving look, "Mom brought it back from Monty Carlo in spring."

"If you say so," Tony snubbed, wiping sweaty palms over his simple blue jeans and Hawaii Five-O t-shirt.

"You won't get anywhere if you don't dress to impress." Shauna continued to lecture him on the merits of fashion as she jumped off and stood proudly before him, arms folded.

Ignoring her Tony closed the machine lid, encasing the horrid sailor suit in its tomb and pressed all the buttons. He'd tried sabotaging it before, spilling food, falling over, that sort of thing, but each and every time she managed to fix it. Tony was just praying if this didn't work that he had a growth spurt soon so it would no longer fit him, but deep in the back of his mind he feared when that day came he'd just end up with a new one anyway.

He was about to suggest they go play outside while they wait, but as he opened his mouth, instead of his voice, he heard his father calling for him. Tony and Shauna ran out of the laundry room, leaving the sailor suit to get wrecked, and trailed into the entrance way.

"Junior," his dad called again walking down the feature spiral stair case, best suit on, tie hanging loose around his neck, "You're mom's out for the night and Nancy's not here yet but I have a meeting I can't be late for, go upstairs and get your bed clothes on."

"Dad!" Tony protested, seeing Shauna snigger.

Mr DiNozzo continued to dress in the mirror and didn't register her presence.

"See you later Tony." She said sadly, taking her cue to leave.

Tony grudgingly waved bye and approached his dad.

"I don't want to go to bed, it's still light out."

"Junior, you know how important these deals are. Just stay in your room. You'll be fine." His father used the same patronising tone as always when he wasn't really listening to him.

Tony's little shoulders slumped at the prospect of a night alone in the house. He watched his dad walk passed him without a second glance and stand in front of the hallway's floor length mirror to do up his cuff links. Tony could see his own reflection in the mirror, standing behind his father and wondered what mirror-Tony was thinking. The little boy staring back at him looked very unhappy, which was to be expected since he wasn't happy either.

Tony considered begging his dad not to leave him, but he knew from experience that wouldn't work. He was going to be seven in a week and _it was about time he grew up. _Tears threaten to over spill before he could stop them.

"Anthony," his father snapped, "DiNozzo's don't cry_._"

"Can I watch TV?" He sniffed, sucking in his fears.

Senior sighed at him, dropping the grip he'd had on his now half-done tie he turned to look down at Tony.

"Fine, just don't fall asleep with it on."

Tony smiled, his fears instantly forgotten and kicking off his shoes ran up the stairs to fetch the black and white set from his cupboard.

"And don't tell your mother, you know she hates that TV in your room," Senior's voice travelled up to him.

"It doesn't go with the _décor_." Tony recited back happily.

…

Tony sat up with a gasp. He'd fallen asleep with his nose to the TV again. After watching five minutes of family feud he'd flipped the channel and watched a Man from Uncle Marathon instead. The screen was now snow and pulling himself up Tony looked blearily around his room for a clock, forgetting anything with batteries or a plug didn't belong in a 15th century styled room.

Knowing he'd have to leave his bedroom if he wanted to know the time filled him full of dread. The house was in darkness, and after turning off his TV it was silent too. That meant Nancy had never shown up and neither of his parents were back yet. If Nancy _were_ here the sound of the Beatles would be blaring up the stairs and woken him long ago. If his parents were home he'd be able to hear the ritual door slamming and consequent yelling of obscenities.

Just as he was reaching the threshold of his room, poking his head out into the corridor thunder rumbled outside making Tony jump and run back, nose diving into bed to hide under his covers. If no one was home then it couldn't be that late he reasoned from inside his little safe haven of heavy blankets. Tony lent back and pulled a torch from under his pillow. His mom knew he had it, he'd told her it was for reading since candle light would be dangerous, but really it was for moments such as this, when the dark became suffocating in solitude.

He sat there for a while, wondering if he could try and fall back to sleep, but the slight pressure in his stomach alerted him to his need to use the bathroom and Tony knew unless he wanted to be called names by his father for wetting the bed he had to leave his room. Bracing himself Tony counted to five before climbing out of bed. He crossed his room and peaked around his bedroom door. Standing on his toes Tony reached up and tried the light switch but for some reason nothing happened. Tony walked back to his TV and turned it back on, but like the lights it didn't work now either. So clutching his torch he went back to his door and stepped into the dark hallway. Lightning struck outside, swiftly followed by another rumble and illuminated the long corridor. Tony ran, making a mad dash in the temporary light towards the bathroom.

Once done he was working up the courage to head back to his room when a loud smash from downstairs had him dropping to his knees and hiding behind the stairs baluster. He shone his torch in the general direction of the noise, but it did little to chase away the consuming darkness.

Going against his gut feeling to run back to his room Tony descended the first flight of stairs slowly, shinning his torch in front of him.

"Hello?" He called out, "Mom? Dad?"

No one replied but the thunder, which succeeded in scaring him so much he slipped and fell down the last few steps. Holding in his cry of pain and nursing his aching ankle, Tony wondered what Illya Kuryakin would do in a situation like this. Looking around the dark house Tony caught sight of a light bouncing around underneath a door that was slightly ajar. That door was never open, it belonged to his father's office and he was never allowed inside. Sucking in a breath, being brave Tony pushed himself to his feet and went to investigate…

…

"Who's in the office, Tony?" Mary asked him, keeping her resolve.

Gibbs was finding that hard to do himself. Senior had already admitted leaving Tony alone that night, but hearing exactly what happened, from the child himself, seemed to make it feel so much more real and intensified the anger he was already feeling.

He was broken from his homicidal thoughts when instead of answering the questions like he had been doing Tony started breathing quickly again. Alert to what it meant from earlier Gibbs pushed away from the wall and bent over the top of the sofa.

"I don't want too." Tony's six year old answered Mary's question.

"What don't you want to do Tony?" She asked him, following his lead.

"I don't want to go in there."

"Where?"

"My dad's office, someone's there, I'm going to look but I shouldn't, I shouldn't, I'm not supposed to be there!" Tony screamed, his cries turning into wails.

"Anything I can do?" Gibbs asked coming up on her right.

"Comfort him," she nodded offering a soft smile, "let him know you're here."

Gibbs immediately crouched down next to the sofa and placed a hand in Tony's hair. He quietened, and seemed calmer, yet the odd whimper still escaped.

"Tony, tell me, what do you see." Mary continued on task…

…

Lights flashed before his eyes, images assaulted him that Tony couldn't place, faces familiar and some not so appeared and disappeared. Like a thousand small needles pricking him at the same time it all became too much, Tony collapsed into nothingness, the room spinning around him again. It stopped as suddenly as it had started and he felt pain, vision greying in and out, the stench of blood hanging lazily in the air. Waking up Tony knew he wasn't anywhere he'd like. The scent of sawdust was absent as were the comforting arms he'd expected to still be holding him.

Tony opened his eyes to what he believed was an empty room. He was on his back, and from this angle he could see dirty uncovered windows above and to the side. It was daylight outside, though by the looks of it either a very dull day or nearing night again. He felt woozy, his arms and legs unable to move, a burning in his throat that he remembered from the last time he'd had stomach flu.

Turning his head to the side Tony caught sight of two men, they were arguing.

"Shut up!" One man hit the other, punching him square in the gut.

Tony watched wondering why the man hadn't moved or defended himself. He rolled forward to get a better look around the door-less frame and that's when he saw Mr Miller holding the man's arms behind his back.

"He's just a kid, I didn't get into this to hurt kids." The man being restrained spat, literally, blood onto the floor.

Tony's brain wasn't working wonderfully, but he wasn't stupid. He knew they were most likely talking about him.

"No you got into this for the money," the man hitting him said, bearing his teeth.

"Hurt him, and you'll never see that money again Bell."

"That's SSA Bell, Special Agent Hannigan." The man hit the other man again. "Now tell me, where's the money?"

"So you can kill us both?" Hannigan laughed, "I don't think so."

Tony blanched at the mention of killing anyone, he wanted to get up and run, but his legs still wouldn't move, and in the face of adversity Tony did what any six year old would, he started to cry.

…

Gibbs clamped his jaw tight when Tony described what was happening and then suddenly started to cry. He tried everything to calm him, but his struggles increased, to the point he could no longer hold him down without hurting him. Just as Gibbs was losing his resolve Tony's posture changed. He arched off the sofa, piercing screams loud enough to attract attention from everyone in the building. Ducky's words from earlier echoed in his mind, and Gibbs realised the truth of what his old friend had been trying to tell him. This wasn't helping, whatever Tony had gone through, he didn't need to relive it.

"Bring him out." He commanded, his grip firm on Tony's shoulders

"He wants to remember his kidnapping and we haven't gotten everything yet." Mary protested.

"I don't care, bring him out!" Gibbs shouted back at her.

Tony continued to scream, tossing his head from side to side muttering words that made no sense.

"Okay, but this isn't a parlour trick…I can't just snap my fingers." Mary conceded grudgingly, making it clear he had no authority over her.

"Ok," he nodded, turning his head away when Tony's screams increased in volume, and intensity "Damn it Ducky was right." He whispered to himself.

"Tony focus on the sound of my voice, tell me what you can see." She continued, ignoring him.

"I've got my eyes closed." Tony squeaked in the child's voice he'd been using since going under.

Gibbs cringed, it was strange and unnatural and it gave him the creeps, even more so now he knew Tony was in pain.

"I want you to open your eyes, and not be afraid."

"No!" He started to panic again.

"Okay Tony, calm down, go back to your safe place." Mary continued her tone as calm and casual as if she was ordering coffee.

Tony fell silent, his ragged breathing slowing and evening out.

"Tony," Mary began, "I want you to count up from one and open your eyes…"

They waited and listened, until suddenly, Tony's eyes shot open.

"You good?" Gibbs asked immediately upon seeing Tony gaze confusedly around the room.

Gibbs still hadn't let him go. He was shaking and trembling and staring wide eyed at the ceiling.

…

Taking deep heaving breaths to quell the panic he looked around the room, his last memory was of Gibbs carrying him up from his basement, he was still small. But looking around he saw orange walls, felt the uncomfortable sofa under him and saw his very sizable feet hanging over the edge… he was back at NCIS.

Tony relaxed marginally, before his senses aligned with his memories and spurred him into action. Jumping up from the low sofa, pushing Mary away without meaning to he dashed out of the room to one panicked voice calling his name and Gibbs' irate growl.

He ignored both of them, running out into the corridor and down to the bullpen, he ignored Kate's demand of 'What the hell is going on DiNozzo?' and approached McGee. His wild craziness obviously scaring the Probie half to death if his face was anything to go by.

"Probie the FBI agent that got killed, what was his name?" Tony asked urgently.

"I erm, what?"

"The whole FBI operation that Abby told us about, an Agent was killed! What was his name?"

"I, don't-" McGee shook his head, forehead drawn into a frown.

"Probie!" Tony screamed at him, arms out wide grabbing him by the shoulders and nearly shaking the answers out of him.

"Ok, yeah," Tony let him go and McGee retook his seat, tapping at his keyboard, "It's Patrick Hannigan-"

He pointed at the plasma screen where he'd brought up the Agents profile photo as he said it. Tony spun around and stared at the face, hanging there like a living nightmare. Feeling his chest tighten, Tony visibly forced himself to just breathe, well versed as he now was in the symptoms of an impending anxiety attack. He was so preoccupied with not losing it Tony didn't notice Gibbs coming from behind to stand at his side until the hand was placed in the middle of his back.

"That's Craig Bower." Kate was the one to state out loud what everyone present was thinking.

"Actually its Special Agent Patrick Hannigan, FBI. Deceased July 2nd 1978." McGee read off his computer.

"How's that possible, he's down in autopsy, and I'm sure Ducky would have noticed if he'd been dead over twenty years." Kate continued.

McGee stood up before Gibbs.

"Boss I don't know what to say, I…"

"DiNozzo?" Gibbs growled instead, ignoring McGee. Tony spun around to stare at him. "You remember him hurting you?" He almost whispered, nudging his head at the screen

"No," Tony shook his head, wide eyed, eyebrows drawn together, "I think he saved me." He looked Gibbs dead in the eye. "I think we're being played Boss."

Face unreadable and without saying a word Gibbs turned to the others.

"McGee the other guy, the one who blew his cover, bring him up,"

McGee did as ordered and everyone stared at the old photo.

"Does he look familiar to anyone?" He asked.

Kate sighed and stamped her foot.

"That's the detective from Bower's, er, Hannigan's," she shook her head, still a little confused, "crime scene."

"Oh we are definitely being played." Gibbs affirmed, looking at Tony with something akin to pride before determinedly striding out of the bullpen.

Normally Tony would drink that up, but the situation as it was made any outward thoughts or reactions near impossible. He was in shock and hadn't even begun to think about the meaning behind what he had remembered under hypnosis.

"Boss," Tony breathed, coming to and chasing after him, leaving Kate and McGee behind to work out what had happened for themselves.

…

Gibbs stormed into interrogation, slapping a piece of official paper on the table.

"Gibbs, I thought you'd forgotten about me." Senior dropped the smile when Gibbs made it very clear he was near homicidal, "what's this?"

"Your deal." Gibbs growled. "Now tell me what I need to know to save him."

He hated asking this man for help and that translated well into his begrudging tone, but he could not and would not put Tony through anymore. It was his mistake for not 'getting it' sooner, now Senior was going to give them answers willingly or Gibbs would make him talk.

"Save who? You can't still think junior's in danger?" Senior was firm, "It's me they're after. No one's going to hurt Anthony."

"Now how could you possibly know that?" Gibbs inquired lightly, leaning over him intimidatingly.

Senior looked nervous for the first time since they'd dragged his sorry ass in there.

"Well …" he chuckled nervously, "its obvious isn't it? Why would Henry want to hurt Tony?"

"I don't know, why don't you tell me?"

DiNozzo Senior looked abashed and refused to meet his eyes with his answer.

"You really are a piece of work aren't you?" Gibbs shook his head. "This whole thing was a set up, you know exactly who took Tony and what happened to him. You also know why. Now you're just wasting my time so you and your partner can get to the money first."

"Gibbs, I don't know what you're smoking to think that, my life is in danger the Bonanno's-"

"Don't care!" Gibbs shouted. "What's left of the Bonanno family don't even know who the two of you are."

"If that's the case then why are the FBI following me?" Senior countered.

"They're after the money." Gibbs guessed, but didn't let DiNozzo see that, "Money you stole. Money Tony was hurt over."

"I told you I didn't hurt him." Senior said through gritted teeth.

"No, you just helped the man who did." Gibbs eyed the paper he'd slapped down on the table

DiNozzo's gaze followed and he instinctually picked it up, turning it over. Senior came to face to face with the detective from Bower's crime scene and gasped.

"Who is he," Gibbs' steely eyes bore into him, "really?"

"I don't know him." Senior admitted without a fight. "I only met him once. When he approached me with the money."

"And when he kidnapped Tony," Gibbs said calmly, eyebrows raised, daring him to deny it.

"It wasn't like that." Senior shook his head.

Gibbs leaned forward, voice deadly calm.

"Then what was it like?"

….

July 1st 1978

The cab pulled up at the steps leading into the house. Anthony DiNozzo Sr paid the driver what he owed, plus a little extra to keep his lights off as he travelled back down the long private driveway. It was late, past one in the morning and he only hoped the house lights were all on because his wife had passed out after drinking all night with her friends. He snuck through the door and shut it carefully, but before he could take a step further he heard the distinctive sound of his wife's high heels rebounding off the marble flooring.

"My god where have you been?" She shouted at him.

He sighed, so that was how it was going to be.

"I told you I had a dinner-" He stopped once he saw the panic on her face. "What's wrong?"

"Where's Tony?" She shrieked, grabbing his shirt.

"Tony?" He repeated, "He's in bed."

She burst into tears right there and then, leaving him feeling completely confused.

"You liar! What have you done with him?" She collapsed against him.

"I've done nothing with him!" DiNozzo Sr grabbed his wife by her forearms, holding her away from him, "where he is?"

"I don't know!" She shouted, breaking free and running towards the stairs, "someone's taken him!"

He ran after her not quite understanding what the hell was going on. Following her into Tony's bedroom he staggered to a halt upon catching sight of the broken window and the blood pooled on the floor.

There was such a lot he didn't know what to think at first, but then he saw the leather wallet peeking out from under Tony's bed. Kneeling down he carefully picked it up, even caked in blood he recognised what it was and wrapped a hanky-chief around it, quickly hiding it in his pocket.

"What time did you get home?" He asked her calmly, standing up.

She didn't answer, turning around he saw his wife staring blindly at the blood covering her son's bedroom floor.

"I went for drinks after the fundraiser, I thought there'd been an accident and you'd taken him to hospital, but…"

"What time?!" He bellowed making her jump.

"About five minutes ago." She shouted back, her upset forgotten in face of his anger. "If he's not with you we need to call the police, where the hell were you?"

"I had a meeting, a dinner, Nancy didn't show, I thought you'd be straight home I didn't want to be late…"

"You left him?" she ran up to him, her despair almost swallowed by outrage with every damning word he uttered. "You left him alone?"

"I had no choice!" He defended himself.

"Couldn't tell your floosy to take a hike?" She snapped back. "When did you leave him?"

He closed his eyes, not wanting to admit the truth, not wanting to think of how long Tony could have been missing.

"A little after seven."

She collapsed again, her anger for him not nearly as powerful as her sorrow for her missing little boy. He however remained standing, staring out the broken window, rigid and still in the night air.

….

DiNozzo spun his car into the Miller's driveway, not caring about the hour he left the engine running and banged on the door. Trying the handle and finding it unlocked he wasted no time and stormed right in.

"Henry?" He called heading straight for the stairs.

"Anthony, whatever's wrong?" Elaine Miller appeared on the top landing looking down on him, her daughter Shauna appearing by her side seconds later.

"Where's Henry I need to see him." He demanded urgently, not wasting any more time.

"He was out with you…" Elaine started to ask what was wrong again, but he ran off heading deeper into the Miller's house. "What's going on?"

She ran down the stairs and followed him into her husband's study.

"Anthony you're scaring me, what's wrong?"

He looked at her briefly while he searched through Henry's desk in the study, stood in her night gown, arms held protectively over her chest.

"Nothing," he dismissed her, "take Shauna back to bed."

"But-"

"Do it!" He slammed a draw and pinned her with his most disturbing glare.

Elaine jumped but didn't move to leave, finding what he was looking for DiNozzo Sr pushed by her. Feeling eyes on him all the way to the door he only hoped he got the opportunity to explain later.

…

Pulling up at the abandoned warehouse lot he jumped out of his car and looked around. The night was un-seasonally cold and there wasn't nearly as many attending tonight as he thought would be usually. Though the storm from earlier probably had something to do with that. Spotting Henry's car he made his way over briskly.

"Henry! Henry!" He called across the lot.

"DiNozzo what the hell are you doing here?" Miller greeted him with a smile and a handshake.

"They got Anthony." He completely ignored the hand.

Miller pulled him away from his little group and they came to a stop in a quiet corner between two empty cars.

"You sure?" Miller questioned, checking over his shoulder to see if he was being watched.

"Positive." DiNozzo nodded.

"Shauna?"

"She's fine." DiNozzo checked his watch, they'd already lost another hour by him driving out there. "You've got to help me get him back!"

"Ok, ok, how do we know it's them?"

DiNozzo pulled out the FBI badge he found under Anthony's bed. Miller stared at the dried blood covering it.

"He's dead?" Miller questioned.

"Someone is, or injured, there's was blood all over the floor… "

"And you sure it's not Tony's?"

"Of course I'm sure!" DiNozzo snapped, "Damnit Henry, we should never have gotten involved."

"Well it's a bit late for that now! Would you have preferred federal prison?"

"I did this to KEEP my family Henry!" He snapped, "If I lose Tony I lose her."

"You'd have lost her anyway." Henry hissed back, "You really think she'd choose you over the money? You're nothing, you have nothing, this was your chance to break free, be your own man and provide for them. The cash the deal promised would have set you up for life, neither of you would need her family then."

"What's done is done. I need to get Tony back, that's all I care about."

"Well why do they have him?"

"I don't know!" DiNozzo groused, "They broke into my office, maybe someone turned on us, told Bonanno we had his cash."

"But we don't right? You hid it like we agree?"

"I set up the account, the details were hidden in my office-"

"Were?" Miller's face slackened.

"They're gone," DiNozzo admitted.

"Damn it!" Miller stomped, pissed off. "Well that's it, this has got to be an inside job, nobody else knew. We've lost everything!"

"We've got bigger concerns! His mom's all up in my face about calling the police!"

"She didn't right?"

"Of course not," DiNozzo growled, "But we have to get him back or they'll be no convincing her, then we'll definitely be heading for prison, both of us!"

"Okay. Well, someone at the FBI is going to find out about this," Miller pointed at the badge DiNozzo was still holding, "We just need to hang tight."

"Hang tight? It's my kid that's out there!"

"You worried about him or what your wife will do to you if you don't bring him back in one piece?"

DiNozzo grabbed Miller's collar, Miller forcefully removed his hand.

"I'll make a call." Miller continued calmly, "trust me."

…

"Bell" Senior tapped the photo, "was the undercover agent who approached us, said we could split the money or he'd send us both down with the Bonanno's when the case closed." He took a sip of the water provided while he'd been kept waiting in interrogation. "Wasn't much of a decision, I had everything to lose."

"And thousands to gain." Gibbs slipped in, refusing to feel sorry for this man.

DiNozzo didn't seem to be listening, trapped in his own hell of self-recrimination.

"Gibbs where is he?" Senior looked up, his face open and honest for the first time.

"Your buddy Bell?" Gibbs quipped, "Last we saw he was at our crime scene."

"I mean my son. Where's Anthony?" He asked tiredly.

"Didn't think he was your son."

"Gibbs I'm not playing anymore!" Senior growled, matching Gibbs' furious tone. "Tell me where he is!"

…

"I'm here." Tony stormed into the room, going straight to Gibbs' side, fiery gaze aimed at his father.

"Anthony?" his father dared to smile at him.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs growled, just as surprised, but for other reasons.

He could tell the boss was pissed, after all he'd broken another rule, but he'd had enough of standing outside watching. He wanted answers just like Gibbs and wanted them now.

"Tell us dad, what do you know about what's going on?"

"Junior I-"

Tony glared, an excellent imitation of a Gibbs glare, making it very clear how he felt about that name.

"I know alright! I remember, you and Miller were there, in that room! Miller stood by and watched them hurt me."

Tony felt Gibbs flinch next to him. They hadn't discussed yet what he remembered and he had no idea how much he'd said out loud during the hypnosis, so some of this would be news to Gibbs too.

"Henry isn't trying to hurt you, he's trying to protect you." Senior insisted.

Tony laughed and Gibbs remained stoic.

"Oh really," Tony laughed more, "And why pray tell would he be doing that?"

"Because I asked him to." Senior admitted, defeated.

Tony dropped his smile.

"You sent that man to kidnap me again? Kill me?"

"I sent him to stop that from happening."

"By having him threaten me?!" Tony was incredulous.

"I don't know what he did exactly, but he called me, told me the FBI had brought him back because Bell was back and looking for the money. I was worried about you…"

"You were worried about yourself!" Tony snapped back, opening his mouth to impart another insult, snapping his jaw shut when he felt the hand on his arm.

Senior didn't miss the action he was sure and Tony wondered if that was a look of regret that flashed in his dad's eyes upon seeing Gibbs take hold of him, able to calm him with a simple touch, when he couldn't control him the entire time they lived together.

"You're right, I was trying to protect myself, but only because I loved both you and your mom. I didn't want to lose you." He pleaded, "I'm not proud of my decision Junior, especially how it turned out."

"Don't call me that." Tony shook his head, not looking Senior in the eye.

"What?"

"I'm not you. I know." Tony flashed a quick glance at Gibbs, but his point was made. "We have the same name, that's it!"

Tony held himself together, saying it out loud had been harder than he imagined. But it was done and he wasn't going to regret it. He needed to stop running after people, stop hoping that they'd change their minds and suddenly start loving him. It was time he grew up.

He stared at his father, all his anger and upset focused into this one moment.

"What happened to me in that apartment?" He whispered dangerously.

His memories were spotty, but this was his opportunity to hear the why it had happened and he wasn't leaving until he got the answers he was looking for.

"Anthony-"

"What happened Dad?!" Tony shouted.

Senior _and_ Gibbs flinched at the use of the word dad, but Tony really didn't care. Senior nodded, giving in.

"I didn't know what they had planned until it was too late, the damage had been done." He admitted quietly. "It seemed like the best idea at the time, you got to believe me Jun-" DiNozzo swallowed, "Anthony, so much was at stake we couldn't risk you saying anything to anyone."

"Are you telling me this happened because I talk too much?"

Gibbs' hand, which still held his arm squeezed slightly.

"Miller isn't who you need to worry about," Senior avoided answering, changing the subject. "There was only one person who would kill Patrick Hannigan, who you call Craig Bower, if he got in the way."

"Bell." Gibbs filled in the gap. "Why?"

"He thinks Tony knows where the money is." Senior shrugged as if it was obvious.

"What?" Tony's gaze snapped to Gibbs, shaking his head in absolute denial.

"Junior I swear I didn't mean for you to get hurt. I didn't do that." Senior leapt on the moment of temporary weakness, trying pitifully to dig himself out of trouble.

"Then what _did _you do Mr DiNozzo?" Gibbs stepped in before Tony could voice his less than polite reply.

Senior swallowed, desolate eyes meeting Gibbs' sorrowful ones Tony noted, too ashamed to look at him, he answered lowly.

"I left him there."

…

July 2nd 1978

DiNozzo senior walked back into the kitchen after talking to the detective over the phone only to discover his wife propped up on their breakfast table, a mint julep in one hand, cigarette in the other.

"You give a wonderful performance darling."

"I've told you, it's being handled by the FBI, they told me to keep up appearances with the local PD and that is what I'm doing." He snapped, reaching for a bottle of scotch and a glass.

It was late afternoon and Tony had been missing nearly two full days without word. Miller had been right, the FBI knew about what happened, an agent was missing and Bell had missed his assigned contact. They also knew about the money he, Miller and Bell had stolen from FBI funds. They wouldn't tell him much more, other than if he did or said anything without their say so the only place he'd be going was straight to federal prison.

The phone rang again and DiNozzo answered it. Listening intently to the message he dropped his drink and grabbed his car keys.

"Where are you going?" His wife part shouted part slurred after him, but he kept on walking, slamming the door behind him.

…

"Henry what the hell is going on?" DiNozzo demanded as soon as Miller opened the door to the shabby apartment.

He arrived at the address as ordered, not knowing what he was walking into only to almost fall down at the sight of Tony lying on the floor in an adjoining room. He stubbed out the cigarette he'd been smoking, dropping it to the floor and running to his side, falling to his knees picking Tony up.

"You hurt him." He exclaimed, holding Tony limply in his arms.

Looking up again he could see Bell prowling near the door, looking less than pleased.

"The little shit bit me." Bell growled, holding a knife between his hands. "You're lucky I didn't kill him."

"You've had him all this time?" DiNozzo stood angrily. "Why the hell didn't you say something?"

"Easy," Miller stepped between them. "We need a plan."

"What plan?" Senior snapped, "it's over, the FBI knows about us, the money, everything. I haven't heard from you in days! Did you know he was here?"

"I got him a doctor, he took care of everything, Tony won't remember a thing. We can still come out of this if we keep our heads."

"What?"

"I sorted it." Miller nodded at Bell.

Senior was about to say something else, ask why exactly they had his kid in the first place when he caught sight of the other guy lying face down in the corner.

"Whose that?"

"Agent Hannigan. The reason we're in this mess, bastard broke into your house to get evidence against us." Bell kicked the man, he didn't move.

"Does he have it, the code?" Senior asked his concern for Tony, still unconscious in his arms, forgotten.

"No, he must have hid it somewhere in your house,"

"I've looked! It's nowhere, I disguised so no one will know what the numbers mean, but that was the only copy, we're screwed without it."

"Who hear that, you bastard." Bell kicked at Hannigan again.

"You killed him."

"I stabbed him, would have finished the job if your stupid kid hadn't gotten in the way and made me change my plans." Bell seethed, "But he's going to tell us what he did with the money, bet your ass he does."

Senior felt his anger reassert itself. He placed Tony back on the floor and stood to face him.

"Anthony you better go now, let me handle this, I just wanted you to know he was safe," Miller intercepted him, before he could make a move.

"I'm taking him with me." DiNozzo growled, daring them to stop him.

"You can't! You need to keep up appearances with the police. I have a plan, please Anthony trust me." Miller said smoothly. "I'll look after him."

DiNozzo looked at his son. Taking out his cigarettes Senior smoked nearly the whole packet, before nodding his agreement. He didn't see as he had many options, what was done was done. And if Tony really wouldn't remember any of this then that would be a bonus.

"You'll make sure he's okay," Senior confirmed taking one last look at Tony lying helpless, sprawled out on the floor.

"I promise, but you need to go back home."

DiNozzo put out his last butt, dropping it to the floor to join the others as he turned his back on Tony and left the room.

….

Tony ran out of interrogation room the minute senior finished telling his story and dared to ask for his forgiveness. Gibbs had to quell every natural instinct he had in him to not run out after him.

"The ransom was to pay the doctor wasn't it?" Gibbs said knowingly, "For the shock treatment that made him forget."

"How'd you …?" Senior started but his voice drifted off.

Gibbs didn't feel he needed to explain how they'd worked out what he had so carefully avoided admitting too just now, but found himself telling him anyway.

"The photos told us, our M.E can assess causes of injury even from a black and white. Those electrical burns on his forehead…" Gibbs couldn't finish his sentence, and wasn't putting himself through that again for this son of a bitch.

"I hadn't know the exact method at the time, but Miller filled me later… what they'd done." DiNozzo shrugged, seeming to be at peace with what he'd allowed to happen despite how wrong it was.

"Yeah," he nodded, leaving the room slowly, not looking back.

Once in the corridor Gibbs pulled out his cell and knowing how bad it was speed dialled Ducky. He picked up on the first ring and before he could say anything informed him of Tony's whereabouts. A pleased, but sad smile graced Gibbs' face as he hung up and called another number. Gibbs filled Kate in on the situation, issuing orders as he made his way down to join them.

Ducky saw him approach autopsy and stepped out to greet him.

"We're very lucky." He announced gravely, after the doors closed behind him.

"He okay?" Gibbs asked the obvious.

"No, not by a long shot."

"The hypnosis took it out of him." He agreed with a sigh, avoiding the core issue.

"Yes well I'm asserting my right as a medical practitioner," Ducky said point of fact," he won't be doing that again."

"I know that, Duck." Gibbs swallowed, thinking on what DiNozzo had said to his father and wishing to god he could forget it all over again. "But he did good, got us the answers we needed."

Ducky was staring at him. "Jethro what's going on?"

Gibbs tried to not look like he was hiding anything, but knew he was failing miserably when Ducky kept up the stare.

"It's a setup, Duck." "Senior and Miller are working together, Bower isn't really Bower he's a-"

"FBI agent I know Katelyn has already informed me. Young Anthony has kindly just filled me in on the rest." Ducky nodded. "But what I meant was, what's going on with you?"

Gibbs smiled at Ducky's bluntness. He was lucky to have him.

"I should have listened Duck. He didn't need to do that. I know that now."

There was a brief pause where Gibbs looked suitably abashed and Ducky smiled smugly. It wasn't often he was wrong, it was even less often he admitted to it.

"May I suggest you hold off from kicking yourself," Ducky said smoothly, nudging his head at the closed doors behind them, "he needs you right now, Jethro."

He nodded, yeah he knew that too.

…

Tony heard the doors open and close again and knew instantly it had to be Gibbs. Ducky would have said something by now. He could smell the scent of fresh coffee and, if he wasn't mistaken, hot chocolate as Gibbs approached, appearing by his side. He hitched himself up onto the autopsy table he was already sat on in the same way he'd entered, without a word, and handed him a cup.

They sat there for a few minutes, Tony held the cup between his cold hands, not knowing what to say now everything had calmed down and all that was left was the elephant in the room. He didn't know how much Gibbs would know from his session with Mary, didn't know if he'd described everything that happened out loud or if he'd just dreamt it, but he remembered being a little kid, Gibbs picking him up, carrying him and falling asleep in his arms. He felt foolish thinking of it now, but at the time it had seemed so normal, so right.

Hot chocolate drunk Tony tossed the cup into the waste bin opposite making a sound shot. Gibbs moved at his side, digging into his jacket pocket he pulled out a chocolate bar, the kind usually found in the NCIS vending machines and more often, in Tony's desk. He held it out and Tony took the bar with a small smile, examined it but didn't open it.

"Boss, we don't have to do this." Tony said eventually holding onto the chocolate like a lifeline.

"Do what?"

Tony pursed his lips and folded his arms fast across his chest, letting out a nervous chuckle.

"Do what." He repeated to himself, directing his gaze everywhere except at the man beside him.

"Tony-"

"I'm fine Gibbs."

"DiNozzo,"

"Really." Tony pinned him with a look. "Don't we have an investigation to get on with?"

"It can wait." Gibbs said softly, with just a hint of patronizing.

"Boss-"

"No." Gibbs barked, tone hard this time. "I need you with your head on straight."

"What like yours is?" Tony shot back, "you're being nice. You've been being nice since this all started."

"That a problem?" Gibbs shrugged.

"Well yeah!" Tony exaggerated his outrage. "I'm used to the bad moods and the shouting and physical assaults, I'm a simple person Gibbs change confuses me."

"You're anything but simple DiNozzo."

"I'm not a child." He snapped unconvincingly, the image of him as a kid with Gibbs still fresh in his mind and the jealously of not experiencing that for real influencing his less than stellar mood.

"No," Gibbs chuckled annoying him with his self-confidence, making Tony believe he was most definitely aware of everything that happened while under hypnosis, "You're not a child. But you are a kid."

"I'm over thirty!"

"Still a kid to me DiNozzo," Gibbs shrugged refusing to explain himself.

"If that's true why aren't you yelling and dishing out the corporal punishment, what's with all this caring crap…"

"It's necessary." Gibbs sighed, sitting back, looking up at the ceiling.

"Why?" Tony stood and paced the room, thrown by the lack of fight in his normally easily angered boss.

Gibbs' eyes flashed.

"Because if this was happening to me I wouldn't want to be smacked in the head."

Tony blanched, he knew what this was. Pity. Well he didn't want anyone's pity, least of all from the man he respected the most, the one person on the entire planet that looked at him and saw there was more to him than he put out there.

"Well news flash. I'm not you." Tony tried to deflect, thought he saw a brief flash of hurt in Gibbs eyes and tried to ignore it. "I'm not much of him either it seems. He let me get hurt."

"He left you alone." Gibbs confirmed, giving him a curious look.

"You were there, you heard what he said. Don't need to go over it again, it is what it is. No one gave a rat's ass about me then, why the hell should that be any different now?"

Gibbs took a sip from his coffee. Tony couldn't tell what he was thinking, but he was cooking up something. Retaking his seat on the table next to Gibbs he let the dejected silence stretch on and waited for the grilling and recrimination to start.

"You hold onto that chocolate bar any longer and it'll melt." Gibbs said evenly, as if Tony hadn't just had a proper hissy fit.

Tony froze, wide eyed stare aimed squarely at the bar in his hand, eyes glassy with tears. The simply statement hit him hard because it was such a dad thing to say. Why would his boss bring him the bar in the first place? Easy answer, because, just like he'd brought the hot chocolate, and the cookie earlier, despite the gruffness and the irritation he cared and he showed it not in words, but with little gestures. Gestures like giving him a roof over his head when he needed one, a willing ear when he had a problem, a headslap to show him he was paying attention and sometimes… a chocolate bar.

The emotions built up inside him until he couldn't hold them in any longer. He'd been spoiling for a fight, something to get him angry and let him shout and curse at the injustice of having no one that cared when it really mattered, but that wasn't true and Gibbs' refusal to play the game proved that.

Tony laughed. Laughed until tears streamed down reddened cheeks. It wasn't even funny, but damn it, it was the truth. The memory of being a kid and having Gibbs pick him up came to the forefront of his mind once again. It would be an image he'd never be rid of he assumed, his safe place. Funny that his safe place was a home that wasn't his and arms he'd never been comforted in as a kid or otherwise, at least until very recently and only then because he'd had a nightmare or was so messed up words were beyond reaching him. They'd never hugged _just because_ and though these were strange circumstances Tony was doing okay he thought and felt it was time for one of those kind of hugs. So unlike the last few times where Gibbs had had to pin him in place to comfort him, Tony turned and gave Gibbs the biggest hug he had in him.

He was careful, turning around on the table he avoided the coffee cup Gibbs was holding in his right hand and slipped his arms under, squeezing his boss so tight there was no room for him to even try and break free without causing damage. When Gibbs didn't immediately push him away, and even went so far as to close his own arms around him Tony couldn't help himself.

"People will start to talk." He muttered with a giggle over one solid shoulder, not letting go.

Gibbs temporally lifted his coffee free hand and slapped him lightly across the back of the head.

"Thank you, boss."

TBC…

A/N:

Too fluffy? Nah, you've gotten this far, you must know my style by now…

Sorry for the wait, I have been taking in all the update requests, sometimes the muse gets railroaded ;) As always thanks for all the reviews I LOVE them! It's been a while, but you'll be pleased to know I fleshed out the whole story and it's finished- ish. I 've also gone through each and every chapter to tidy the story somewhat, chapters 1 and 2 got the most altering, but chapters 5 through 10 had some small changes made. Nothing that's going to majorly impact your continued reading, just an FYI if you noticed something that wasn't there before ;)

Ttfn!


	12. Chapter 12

"Okay so I get not talking to the FBI, but didn't he realise telling us the truth would have been a lot more helpful?" Kate slammed shut the file cabinet between McGee's and DiNozzo's desks. "When we first spoke with him we were asking about his son, we didn't even know about the damn money!"

Her voice was getting higher and louder the more she ranted, to the point McGee really did fear for his own life. He hoped she didn't get this worked up every time they had a difficult case, from what he'd seen up to now Kate had come across as the most grounded off of team Gibbs. If she turned out to be as insane at DiNozzo he was in big trouble.

Risking a glance up when the bullpen fell suspiciously silent, McGee suddenly became overcome with guilt. Kate was dejectedly slumped against her desk, arms folded defensively across her chest, gaze fixed to the floor. He was forgetting that despite her often displayed irritation with Tony, deep down, she really did care about her partner.

"Maybe he thought he was doing the right thing?" McGee suggested lightly, hoping the idea that Mr DiNozzo may have had good intentions for misleading them would make her feel better.

"The right thing McGee? Really?" Kate all but screamed at him.

Kate marched up to his desk and McGee shrunk back, only just catching himself on his desk before he completely fell out of his chair. Daring to look her at her looming over him, hands on hips, foot tapping a rhythmic cadence spelling his doom McGee didn't dare say another word.

"Let it go Agent Todd." Gibbs glided casually in the bullpen, coffee in hand and looking more relaxed than he had all week.

Kate spun around and stepped towards Gibbs. McGee righted his chair and took a few deep breaths silently thanking the boss for his immaculate timing.

"He wasted our time!" she shouted, "I can't believe you're being so calm!"

McGee froze, the unexpected explosion at Gibbs making him too afraid to move, like he thought the world might end if he so much as blinked.

"I said let it go," Gibbs said dangerously, sitting down at his desk without giving Kate a second glance, "What we got?"

McGee did manage a blink. It broke the spell of terror he was locked in and as soon as he realised Gibbs was looking at _him_ quickly blurted a reply.

"We put a bolo out on Bell, and updated the one on Miller about the car, but no hits yet." McGee swallowed, feeling a sweat break out on his forehead when Gibbs continued to stare, "er unfortunately the front gate footage is missing, it's er been erased maybe, possibly a computer error Abby, um, Abby's going to see if she can recover anything from it."

McGee clamped his mouth shut. He hated being put on the spot like that, especially when he had nothing of use to report, even more especially when Gibbs was in a bad mood. He found himself missing Tony's presence by his side, though it annoyed him when DiNozzo butted in and tried to take credit, he usually saved him from making a complete idiot out of himself. Like he was doing now.

Kate joined Gibbs in glaring at him, arms still folded looking cross, as if he was to blame for their lack of progress.

"I've called and updated Fornell." She eventually turned away, breaking the strained silence, "he should be filling in Miller's handler now."

Gibbs sat back in his chair, running both palms over his face into his hair. "So what we have is nothing?"

McGee deflated, wishing he could slide off his chair to hide under his desk. It was pretty rubbish, considering all the information Tony had managed to give them after seeing the hypnotist.

"Well it would help if the people who knew the truth would tell us everything and not send us on wild goose chases!" Kate started off again.

"Get back on it," Gibbs dismissed them both.

McGee redirected his attention to his computer, once again checking the bolo's on Miller and Bell. Out the corner of his eye he could see Kate was still stood by Gibbs' desk, waiting patiently. They worked in silence for another minute before Gibbs, surprisingly enough, broke first.

"Something else on your mind, Agent Todd?" He snapped angrily.

McGee prepared to duck and cover.

"How's Tony?"

He heard Kate asked softly, in direct contrast to the formal _Agent Todd and _McGee relaxed some.Gibbs did too.

He dropped his shoulders and sighed. "Not great."

McGee didn't think he'd ever heard that kind of defeat from the boss before and for the first time, believed he actually knew how Gibbs felt. Mulling over the events of the last few days, starting with the shootout in the 7/11 right up to not much more than an hour ago when they'd listened to the cries echo down the empty halls from the family room, McGee found it hard to accept how so much had happened in such a short space of time.

"He'll be okay," Kate broke into the comfortable silence, sounding a little more like her usual self.

"Where is he?" McGee added quickly, shamefully realising they hadn't seen anything of DiNozzo since he'd interrupted Gibbs' interrogation of his father.

"Sleeping down in autopsy, Ducky's watching him." Gibbs informed them swiftly, barring any further questions, "did you see the shrink out?"

"Yeah," Kate perked up, her expression lightening, "Mary told me to tell you she has your number."

She turned to him with a suggestive smile, but McGee didn't want any part of it. The red headed psychiatrist had made it very clear about her interest in their boss. The question about wives was extremely difficult to dodge, especially when he'd accidently blurted that at least one had assaulted him with a golf club.

Kate looked about to add something else, when thankfully they were interrupted by Gibbs' ringing cell phone.

"Gibbs." He glared at the pair of them in turn, making McGee swallow reflexively. "Yeah Abs I'll be right down."

.

"Abby?" Gibbs appeared in her lab, fresh Caf-Pow in hand.

"Here," he heard her muffled dejected response and tracked her to the floor under her desk.

Crouching down Gibbs looked at her with a rare open expression. The kind he hid from most of the world.

"What's up Abs?" He asked innocently, preparing to hear whatever had upset her, in no doubt that if it was about Tony it might well upset him too.

Abby's expression transformed from completely dejected to outright aggressive in less time than it took him to order coffee.

"What's up? _What's_ UP?! How can you ask me that?" she promptly slid out from under the desk and stood with a grace and agility Gibbs wished he still possessed. "Tony is hurting, some crazy person wants to do god knows what with him and all anyone cares about is some stupid MONEY!"

"Abby!" Gibbs couldn't help but shout back, stunning her into silence.

He was all set to remain calm until her last comment hit him hard. _He_ didn't care about the money. His only concern was Tony's safety, which was maybe why they had made so little progress. He was so focused on keeping him safe he wasn't taking the necessary risks to solve the case. If they had nothing by tomorrow Gibbs didn't see as he had any other choice, he'd request another agent to be lead investigator. It was either that or let someone else take Tony to a safe house and there was no way he trusted anyone other than his team with that job.

"Gibbs-" Abby tapped his arm, her expressive green eyes telling him she was sorry.

"You said you found the doctor Senior paid instead of a ransom?" He cut her off and moved them along, back to the reason for her call.

Abby didn't look too happy, but after some internal conversation where she appeared to come to some understanding with herself she started talking animatedly again.

"Well McGee actually gave me the idea, use of ECT outside of mental institutions was experimental in the '70's, but even then anyone using it would have had to be registered with the health authority so I checked their databases and got a hit." She turned to here computers and brought up a list of names, "I mean it's not just a matter of hooking someone to jumper cables, the charge is strictly regulated and the probes attached to the head-"

"Abs," Gibbs waved dismissively, "The name?"

"Yeah, well okay, but can I just say," she spun around to face him, an angry frown marking her features, "after my okay maybe non-extensive research, the number of organisations and people still using it today is incredible and I say "people" because no real doctor would ever consider using it and especially not on a child. Did you know ECT is considered a workable treatment in gender reassignment? That's completely f-"

"Abby," Gibbs nudged again, "Who was the bastard?"

"Um, yeah, his name was Charles Ingram," Abby dropped her expressive hands and clicked a few buttons on her keyboard highlighting and enlarging an obituary on the screen, "and he's dead."

"Good." Gibbs said before he could censor his glee.

"Really?" she looked at him sideways.

"Well yeah," Gibbs cheered, letting slip a tiny, barely visible grin, "one less body to bury."

"Wow, you really are out for blood," she said quietly, watching him, "I'm sorry, for before, I know you don't care about the money."

Gibbs smiled gently and kissed her cheek.

"Good work Abs," He started to walk away.

"Wait Gibbs I haven't finished." Abby jumped and dragged him back over to her computers. "I found more. His practice is still being run by his daughter, who is totally against ECT you'll be pleased to know, anyway I called her and she sent me an email of his patient list from 1978 and Bell is on it."

Gibbs blinked, thinking he'd not heard that important bit of information correctly, mashed up as it was amongst the rest of her babble.

"Bell was seeing a psychiatrist, the same one that Senior paid claiming it was a ransom?" Gibbs summed up, expecting her to correct him.

"Exactly!" She grinned brightly, "Coincidence? I think not."

"You have an address for Bell?"

"I've got better than that. After I explained she really wanted to help so she gave me Bell's last known address and is going to email his patient file to NCIS as soon as she finds it."

"And she's doing all this because?" Gibbs drawled, not believing a doctor would simply hand over a confidential record for a second.

"Because I asked nicely Gibbs," Abby said, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

He wasn't so sure about that. Abby may appear harmless, but he'd heard her threaten many people with her world class forensic skills and ability to dispose of bodies without a trace.

"Good work Abs," Gibbs reasoned, happy not to know the truth for now.

On any other case he'd have issue with her turning investigator, but he'd already come to realise this wasn't a normal case and more rules than usual needed to be bent if they were going to solve this by tomorrow. He was about to leave again, contemplating what the connection between Bell and their ECT doctor meant when the paused image on her big screen caught his eye.

"What's that?" He walked over, not believing what, or rather who he could see frozen in the corner of the screen.

"Oh that's the 7/11 footage," Abby shrugged, coming up to stand at his looking strangely embarrassed. "I was checking to see if I missed something."

"Not you Abs, us…" Gibbs flipped out his cell and ordered Kate to the lab, keeping his gaze fixed to the screen. "Rewind it."

"Why?" Gibbs glared at her. "I mean yes bossman!" She grinned, tapping away at her keyboard, "Wow someone's really grouchy."

"Well you bring the footage up and I might actually get to sleep tonight." Gibbs returned.

"Nightmares?" Abby looked over at him from behind her computer, sympathy practically radiating off her.

"Just bring up the damn tape." He muttered, not wishing to embarrass Tony by telling Abby about last night.

"There's Tony," she pointed at the corner of the screen, "and two girls."

Abby chuckled as they watched Tony enter the store and walk over to stand by the magazine rack near the women, clearly eyeing them up.

"Rewind it back to before Tony enters." Gibbs wasn't interested in Tony's flirting, he knew nearly every one of his moves by now, had slapped him for them too.

"That's Hannigan entering the store." She noted and rewound it further.

"Stop," Gibbs held up his hand. "There!"

"Who's that?"

"Bell." Kate surprised them, walking in. "He was following him?"

Gibbs met Kate's shocked gaze and then turned his attention back to the tape, signalling Abby to continue. She let the tape play out and they watch Hannigan enter once Bell is standing near the front of the store circling behind the women. Hannigan approaches Tony, but Bell can be seen in the background dropping back and hiding out of view of the camera, while the scene with Tony and Hannigan play out the same as it did the first time they'd watched it.

"We missed it." Kate sighed.

"We got it now." Gibbs growled angry with himself for not making the connection earlier.

At the crime scene he felt like he'd seen the detective before, but had let the feeling go when Tony had disappeared. He'd been so angry, instead of focusing on the crime scene he'd left, opting to leave two investigators with less than a year's crime scene experience between them to finish up. Morrow should have taken him off the case for that alone.

"So Hannigan wasn't working with Bell, he was tailing him."

Kate's statement drew him back to their current problem. The revelation that Bell, someone yet to do more than stand next to Tony is the one they should be concerned about. And if he really was a patient of the doctor who subjected Tony to ECT treatment what else did they not know about him?

"He obviously didn't want Bell getting close to Tony," Abby picked up her Caf-Pow giving it a big slurp.

"Okay, but it still isn't clear, we don't know who is the real bad guy is here," Kate pointed out. "Hannigan or Bell?"

"Or both." Gibbs added. "I think we've been looking at this the wrong way."

It was so simple Gibbs didn't know why he hadn't thought of it before. He received one very blank look from Kate and one of sheer joy from Abby.

"It's a mad mad mad mad world." Abby jumped up and down with excitement, "Tony will be so upset he didn't get it first."

"What?" Kate snapped, face drawn into confusion.

"It's a movie." Abby cheered smiling at him and he had to laugh at the irony. "Lots of different people find out about a hidden treasure under a big W, everybody fights their way to get to it first, but in the end wind up at the same place. They spend so long arguing about sharing it they miss out completely."

"Okay, either I've entered the twilight zone or we've all been spending too much time watching movie's with DiNozzo."

"Don't you get it?" Abby pulled Kate around to face her, "Everyone is looking for the money, but nobody really knows where it is and the deadline is tomorrow when the FBI release all seized assets involved in the case. The first one to get their hands on it wins."

"But if the FBI have had it all this time, surely they'd have found it by now." Kate said sceptically.

"They don't know what they're looking for." Gibbs explained calmly. "Bell, Miller, Senior and the FBI - none of them know where it is, but they think Tony does."

"But he doesn't. Does he?" Abby spun around to face him.

Gibbs shook his head. Tony had been earnest when senior had first suggested it and he wholly believed him.

"So where does that leave us?" Kate complained in frustration.

"That leaves us with several suspects on the loose who want Tony to lead them to missing millions." Gibbs told her straight, pecking Abby on the cheek once again.

"Well they're obviously confident they'll get it." Kate followed him as he walked out.

"Or desperate."

He reached the elevator, pressed the button and waited for the doors to open.

"Point is we still need them in custody to ensure Tony's safety." Kate continued.

Gibbs stepped onto the elevator, Kate at his side and faced the doors as they closed.

"And I'll get them."

Gibbs and Kate walked into the bullpen to find McGee and a very worried looking Doctor Mallard standing in the middle.

"Duck?" Gibbs came to a stop.

Kate went straight her desk.

"Jethro, thank god I was just coming to look for you." Ducky walked up to him.

He looked and sounded extremely worried, giving Gibbs' gut a reason to begin belly flopping all over the place.

"Where's DiNozzo?" He asked with dread.

"That was why I was coming to see you, it seems while I stepped out to use the restroom our young man stepped out too. I was hoping he'd come up here but…" Ducky looked to McGee.

"I was only out of the squad room for a minute, but I haven't seen him boss." McGee confirmed their fears.

Gibbs sighed and pulled out his cell, speed dialling Tony. The phone rang audibly within the room, having everyone looking around for the source. Gibbs though watched Ducky sheepishly reach into his pocket and pull out a ringing phone. Recognising it as Tony's cell Gibbs sighed again. He'd kill him.

.

Tony stepped out into the cool night breeze. The last glimpse of sun was disappearing over the Potomac giving the area a serene red and gold glow. Sneaking outside had taken surprisingly little effort. He'd thought for sure Gibbs would have had a guard posted on him by now, but after waking up alone in autopsy and making his way upstairs without seeing anyone only to enter an equally empty squad room, he decided to push his luck and make a run for the elevator. Since the guards on the door hadn't even stopped him he believed he was free and clear.

Seeing a few people still hanging around Tony started walking, moving away from the main entrance to avoid being seen. After his disastrous session with the shrink and the emotional fallout that followed with Senior Tony knew his temporary freedom would be short lived so aimed to make it last as long as possible. Gibbs was going to put him on lock down as soon as he knew he'd done a runner, but the chance for some fresh air and alone time was more than worth the telling off he was sure to return to.

Even though he did feel reenergised after his nap, and hell it was a miracle he'd slept at all given the trauma of the day, the night air was nicely refreshing against his otherwise warm skin. Refreshing to the point of being rather unseasonably cold Tony belatedly realised after only a few minutes. He probably should have grabbed his jacket on the way out, but who had time for such things when they were on the run? Tony glanced around the side of the NCIS building, checking to see if anybody was following him then walked a little further alone, finally stopping under the squad room windows. That way he felt a better in himself, like he hadn't truly run away from his team, they were just three floors above him. When Gibbs asked where the hell he'd gone he'd be able to point out the window and claim he'd been only feet away, without lying. Still guilt niggled at him, ruining his enjoyment of being outside. Shoving both hands in his pockets Tony closed his fingers around the second packet of cigs he'd managed to procure earlier and pulled one out, clasping it between his teeth.

"I love it when a plan comes together." He drawled, laughing to himself.

No one was around to comment on his Hannibal impression, which kind of made it pointless, but Tony had bigger things to care about at the moment than lack of an audience. Standing alone in the quiet of the early summers evening he contemplated night number three of Gibbs style protection and felt his cheeks warm at the thought, more nightmares? God he hoped not.

He had never been one to mask his feelings, not quite the macho, shallow guy most believed him to be upon first glance that was for sure. He remembered the first time he met Abby and how she had pegged him for some kind of Ken doll impersonator. Of course it didn't help that when she, being the straight talking girl she was, accused him of actually being a ken doll his reply involved ensuring her that unlike Ken he didn't have a smooth area and offered a demonstration. It had gone downhill from there. Luckily he got hurt not long after which took him out of the field so Gibbs had deposited him in the lab with instructions to help. Of course he'd felt like he'd messed up and it showed so while his defences were down Abby swooped in and begun interrogating him. They talked, without bravado, and discovered that actually, they had plenty in common despite coming from two very different backgrounds. It took more than that one afternoon to connect, but he now considered Abby to be one of his true best friends. He always had played better with girls.

The memory warmed him. Not just because that was something he could remember, but because it was a good memory. Right now he'd love some more good memories. His head was filled with flashes he couldn't explain. Some were clearer than others, and some were down right terrifying. That was what had woken him up. He hoped what he'd seen really was just a nightmare and not a memory because if that was the case he really was quite happy to leave them buried.

If he was going to get through this with his ego intact and keep his place at NCIS he needed to man up and stop falling apart every five fucking minutes. Given he was stood outside in the cooling summers evening, unlit cigarette in hand hiding from the very people Tony wanted to keep it together for, he could conclude that plan wasn't working so well. Kicking at the ground in lieu of himself he guessed he should have known the day was going to be a bad one when he'd started it by waking up from a nightmare screaming and Gibbs squeezing him like Abby's sodding hippo.

That memory alone made him blush deeper. He wondered if that could have been what influenced his hypnotic safe place. He hadn't spoken to Gibbs about that yet either. After the headslap comfortable conversation had dwindled, Gibbs' outright refusal to allow him anyway near the bullpen until he'd gotten some sleep not helping. Tony hadn't taken the instruction well, his number one arguing point being that since he wasn't a vampire, the temperature in autopsy wasn't conductive to peaceful sleep. Gibbs made his point clear with nothing more than a glare and a raised hand, which had Tony lying down immediately without further complaint.

Already feeling like a chastised child Tony stared at the unlit cigarette still in his hand and thought Gibbs would flip if he caught him smoking. He went to put it back in the pack, but hesitated at the last second. His last moment of freedom and last cigarette had such a nice parallel to it. Deciding he definitely deserved one now more than ever Tony popped it back in his mouth, belatedly realising as he patted his pockets down that he had nothing to light it with. Kate had taken his matches when they were on the roof.

Finding nothing he was going to give it up as a bad job when a hand appeared out of nowhere and lit it for him. Tony tried not to choke as he took an unintentional drag on the cigarette, screwing his eyes shut when the coughing made them water.

"Well my, my, haven't you grown up?" A raspy voice said to him.

"Depends on who you ask," Tony instantly quipped, but when he opened his eyes to meet a matching set of green framed by blond hair, he stepped back in surprise.

"Hello Anthony." The woman said, gracefully taking the cigarette from his hand and having a smoke herself.

"Little Shauna Miller," Tony breathed out, trying not to choke again. They stared at each other for a longer than usual moment, Tony quizzically and Shauna with fiery attraction. "Guess I'm not the only one to have done some growing."

He turned on the charm, his go to response in an awkward situation and leered suggestively. Shauna, showing her Vegas showgirl upbringing, drunk it all in.

"If I recall I was taller than you." She purred, stepping closer, getting into his personal space.

"Still are." Tony raised himself to his full height only to come off a touch shorter. He then adjusted back to his goofy persona when she clearly wasn't going to shy away, "though those Killer heels might have something to do with it." He pointed at the bright yellow four inch stilettoes she was sporting, her fashion sense as terrible as he remembered. "Dare I ask what you're doing here?"

"Someone called Kate Todd left a message on my phone looking for mom." She cooled it off and stepped back, a shared moment over, no more than echoes of the past.

"And you thought you'd what? Hop on a plane be-cause?"

"She's dead Tony." Shauna blew out smoke after taking another drag on his cigarette before handing it back.

"Who?" Tony gaped, not taking in her words exactly, more the fact that she was stood in front of him.

"My mom, Cancer, five years now."

"Wow. I'm sorry." Tony winced. "You know a call would have been fine, Vegas isn't exactly around the corner-"

"Dad's back." She cut him off, looking everywhere but at him. "But you already know that."

Tony narrowed his gaze, studying her. He was quickly coming to see that she knew more than he was likely prepared to hear right now given what he'd been put through today.

"He found you too?" He guessed, hoping that was the case anyway.

Shauna looked him over calculatingly and avoided his question.

"You know what happened?"

Loaded question. Tony definitely knew he had to be careful here.

"Let's say I've been recently enlightened." He hedged and quickly moved on. "Shauna I'm sorry you've been dragged into this, whatever this is."

"You're sorry?" She gaped at him, "he's my good for nothing Dad, Tony."

"Well it turns out my good for nothing Dad isn't even my Dad." Tony let slip before he could sensor himself, proving Gibbs was right like always, he really shouldn't be left alone.

"No way?"

"Yes way." He instantly replied, matching her tone for tone.

They'd regressed apparently. Same as grown kids act like little kids again around their parents. He and Shauna hadn't seen each other since they were eight and after their brief little flirtation had slipped right back into their previous preteen roles.

"Oh my god, tell me."

Tony blew out a breath, he really shouldn't, but his common sense was being overridden by his mouth, maybe his brain had been disconnected…

"Seems he's my uncle, only found out because some ex FBI agent who our dad's pissed off back in the day wants revenge or something, I don't know."

He tried to deflect and mumble, anything to stop the details spilling out. Why he was telling her this he didn't know. Maybe because she was there, and he remembered her or maybe it was the fact he'd just been put through hell and stupidly left the only people who cared about him to wonder where the hell he was. Shit.

"That's heavy." She laughed and so did he at her dated point blank pronouncement. "Shit Tony, I should've come sooner, but I freaked out when I got the letter, didn't want to believe it. But when I heard this Kate's message I knew I had to come."

"How long have you known?" It occurred to him all of a sudden.

"What do you mean how long?" She stared at him accusingly.

"I only found out I was kidnapped three days ago and I still don't remember it properly, how did you know?"

She stared at him.

"Tony," she paused, took a drag on the last of his cigarette burning down in his hand, "I'm so sorry I didn't help you back then."

Tony didn't think about what that meant, didn't want to, he took the cig from her and put it out.

"There's someone you need to talk to."

Tbc…

A/N: Soooo sorry for the lateness! And that it's not a long one, but to be nice and make up for my rubbishness I didn't cut it off at the cliff hanger ;)

First I should explain that the story was finished, but when editing I felt like I was maybe rushing it a bit to get it posted before my end of year exam. So I've decided to write a few more chapters which is why it's taking so long.

I hope you enjoyed this, not my best I feel, but I've been rewriting it for so long it was either scrap or post. On the Brightside the next chapter I intend to post later today. Thanks for all the feedback and encouragements! Hope you'll all forgive me for the recent delay – fingers crossed I'll make the wait worth it ;) xxx


	13. Chapter 13

Walking back into NCIS was the easy thing. It was staying there Tony soon found to be his problem. As predicted, everyone including Ducky, Abby and even Palmer was huddled around the plasma, their backs to the elevator. A rumble of their tense conversation, travelling across the low lit squad room on a wave of discontent reached his ears, paralleling his own feelings of anxiety and despair. He watched them, Abby's frantic hand signals, Kate's closed off posture, McGee, stood to the side with Palmer looking a little bit dumb. And there was a moment, just before he cleared his throat, causing each of them to turn and look at him, that it all became too much. He was seconds away from stepping back onto that elevator when Gibbs looked over at him and Tony watched the naked expression of fear on his face morph into relief and then, disappointment.

He cleared his throat and, feeling like one of Ducky's corpses with all the attention he was receiving, bravely stepped up to Gibbs. He smiled awkwardly, hoping he looked as guilt as he felt and coughed out a quick apology. Tony wanted this to be a case of forgive and forget, however when nobody said a word he looked around at the stony faces and gathered they were all more than a little pissed off with him. Of course the tall hot blonde standing at his side might have a lot to do with their continued silence.

"DiNozzo, where the hell you been?" Gibbs growled bringing Tony's focus back to him.

What he heard was 'don't bother lying, I already know'. Tony faltered and tried not to look too disappointed, apparently forgiving was definitely not on the cards tonight and nor was forgetting he'd bet.

"Out," Tony tensed, going for all out insubordination, "you can slap me later boss," he allowed, seeing it as inevitable, "this is important."

Gibbs looked from him to Shauna, communicating that whatever it was better be good.

"Boss, er Gibbs," he stumbled, adverting his eyes and holding out his hand. "Meet Shauna, Shauna this is my Boss, L J Gibbs."

Gibbs duly offered his hand, which Shauna took.

"Shauna as in-" He half asked, forcing to Tony to look at him by his clipped tone alone.

"Miller," he nodded, knowing it was merely for confirmation of what Gibbs was already expecting.

You could hear a pin drop in the uncomfortable silence that followed.

"Conference room," Gibbs growled his demeanour no less cheery than when they'd first entered the bullpen.

Gibbs walked away expecting them to follow and Tony, turning to Shauna with a defeated sigh, held out his hand indicating they should do just that.

.

"Wow." McGee gasped once Gibbs, Tony and the allusive Shauna Miller were out of earshot.

"What?" Kate snapped, staring at him with beady eyes.

"She really is…" Palmer echoed McGee's sentiment.

"I can't believe you men are objectifying her." Kate said huffily, returning to her desk, leaving the men to ogle Shauna Miller as she waggled her way up the stairs towards the briefing room.

"Really?" Abby teased.

"Yes, I …" Kate said vexed, "She's the daughter of a man who has hurt Tony."

"Yeah," McGee drooled, "But she's very hot."

He very slowly walked back over to his own desk, Kate's watchful glare not even registering as she burned twin holes through the back of his head.

"And wasn't she Tony's friend?" Palmer continued, also lazily walking through the centre of the bullpen, head up following Shauna's impossibly graceful stride across the mezzanine.

"And he hasn't slept with her." Abby encouraged them, sitting behind Tony's desk to watch the show with a grin that bared all her pearly white teeth.

"He hasn't?" Palmer and McGee echoed each other, heads snapping around to stare at Abby.

"Well of course not," Kate shouted, standing behind her desk like a high school teacher addressing her remedial class, "Tony was eight last time he saw her, he my may idolise Hugh Heffner, but I'm sure even he didn't start that young, my god men are pigs."

As Kate continued to curse the male population Abby collapsed into laughter, while Ducky, who had kept himself out of the conversation so far, allowed a small chuckle before adding…

"And of course we've all heard the Rockette story." He said moving to rest his feet by leaning against Gibbs' desk.

"The what?" Palmer and McGee echoed each other, trying and failing not to sound too intrigued.

Kate allowed herself to join in on the laughter, enjoying the stunned look on both of the lusting men's faces while Ducky told the rather abbreviated version of how Tony DiNozzo lost his virginity.

.

Once in the conference room and it was just the three of them Gibbs seemed to relax a little. It put Shauna at ease well enough that she explained to both of them about receiving a letter from her father and how, when she heard Kate's message left for her mom, she knew she had to come in.

Tony had seen Gibbs like this before and knew the soft smile and light conversational tone were all part of his technique of gathering intel without the other party knowing his motives. He got it, it _was_ suspicious Shauna had just happened upon him at the exact time he'd decided to go out for a unannounced stroll, but he didn't have any right to think bad of her. She was roughly the same age as him, so just a kid when he was kidnapped, or whatever really happened, happened. No way did she have anything to do with any of it.

"Boss can you maybe not interrogate her." Tony pleaded when Gibbs starting to come on strong with some of his questions.

"It's okay. I understand. My mom was exactly the same after we left Long Island." Shauna said smoothly, looking directly at Gibbs in a similar way to which she'd leered at Tony when she first approached him outside.

Tony shivered involuntarily. Having flashbacks to a certain girlfriend who'd, within a week of dumping him, become his stepmom. It was after that Freudian disaster Tony decided to only date women much younger than his self.

"Tony," Gibbs' tone remained friendly, only _he_ could still hear the veiled threat behind his name. "Go help McGee."

As excuses to get rid of him went Gibbs couldn't have been more obvious, but he supposed that was the point.

Tony really didn't want to leave though and mounted a protest. "Boss?"

Gibbs turned in his seat and glared, which was enough to send him running out the door without another word.

.

Gibbs allowed himself a small smirk once Tony had ran out, but turning slowly back to face Shauna Miller he hardened his expression. There was something going on here, her arrival only complicating the story he thought they'd finally figured out.

"So why are you really here Miss Miller?" Gibbs asked her straight, his tone a little friendlier than before Tony interrupted, but not by much.

"I told you, the letter and it's Becket now," she said calmly, tapping her fingers against the table in a nervous fashion, "though the divorce was finalised just last month. Has Tony been married? I didn't see a ring."

Her deflect told Gibbs she knew a little about interrogating herself and given her proclaimed occupation as a dancer, he didn't want to delve too deeply into how she might have honed those skills. Gibbs could tell that beyond the confidant bravado she was putting out, Shauna was most definitely a troubled individual. Strangely enough she actually reminded him a little of Tony. They both had that same look in their eye, the one that suggests they're trying very hard to hide who they really are.

"You lost something Ms Becket?" Gibbs sidestepped the question smoothly, watching her rifle through her handbag, eventually emptying it onto the table sending its contents sprawling.

"Got it," Shauna proclaimed loudly, producing a very crumple brown envelope. "I really do only want to help agent Gibbs."

Shauna handed him envelope then proceeded to gather the contents of her handbag. He saw immediately the stamp was English and, ignoring the fact it looked similar to another brown envelope he currently held in his possession, he opened it.

"I want you to tell me everything you know, and I want to hear it now!" Gibbs shot out og=f his seat and leaned over the table, supporting his self with both hands spread out in front of him.

Shauna Becket, formally Miller, sat back in her seat and once again brought on the smouldering look she'd clearly perfected over her time in Vegas.

"I'm not sure what you mean," she queried back trying to sound innocent.

"How long have you known about what your father did to Tony in '78?" He rephrased, knowing full well she understood perfectly the first time.

There was clearly something else going on here beyond her sudden burning desire to help, he knew Tony was sceptical too, even if he felt they didn't have cause, but if three divorces had taught him anything about women it was that they were expert manipulators, and this one was no exception.

"The night Tony went missing Mr DiNozzo came round to our house, he didn't say anything, but I knew something was up," Shauna sat up and looked Gibbs directly in the eye. "That same night my dad comes home, packs a bag says he'll be gone a few days. I found out about Tony being missing when the police came round to talk to my mom, she never told them about Tony's dad coming round that night and claimed dad was on a business trip."

"How'd you know he wasn't?" Gibbs asked carefully, willing to let her tell the story how she wanted.

"My dad didn't take business trips Agent Gibbs, and if he did he always packed his best underwear and aftershave if you get my drift."

There was the leer again. He hadn't failed to notice Tony shiver earlier when she started flirting with him and remembering the blonde he'd seen senior with at the restaurant he couldn't guess at what was going through his kid's head right now, especially considering he'd banned him from the room.

"When did you find out your dad had been involved?"

"Just before he left the country, he came clean to mom, I was listening in." She resumed her nervous tapping against the table, "he wanted us to go with him, mom refused. Next thing I know the FBI's knocking on the door, and I never see my Dad or Tony again."

"What he'd say?"

"Just that he was in trouble, it had something to do with what happened to Tony two years before and that he'd done something terrible." She shrugged.

"And you'd heard nothing from him until receiving this?" Gibbs asked, slightly sceptical that Miller would send his estranged daughter a letter like this after all this time.

Checking out the envelope he could see it was postmarked the same day McGee had Miller catching a plane to New York, making the timing of it quite unbelievable.

Gibbs slipped the contents back inside and waved the envelope in her face, "Why do _you_ think he sent this?"

"I don't know!" She snapped back, her temper finally getting the better of her, "look Agent Gibbs I came here because I thought it was the right thing to do, don't treat me like I'm a suspect."

_Gotcha._ Gibbs mentally cheered and leaned further over the table, tone low and dangerous.

"Now why would you think you would be?"

Before Shauna could even open her mouth again Tony barged back into the room without knocking. Gibbs watched her immediately clamp her jaw shut, crossing both arms and legs, leaning back in her seat. She'd used the temporary distraction to close herself off. He wouldn't be getting anything more.

Gibbs could have killed him there and then. Rule #22 didn't only apply to interrogation rooms. He stood up, pushing his chair back hitting Tony in the shins and marched out of the room without a word.

.

"Gibbs what's going on?" Abby pounced running to meet him at the bottom the minute she saw him jog down the stairs.

Still too focused on his anger at Tony for interrupting Gibbs walked right passed her and everyone else still gathered waiting in the bullpen, no doubt curious about their visitor and made a beeline for Ducky. Without a word spoken the pair headed off towards the elevators leaving the others behind.

Gibbs handed Ducky the open envelope just as the doors pulled open and they stepped inside. Ducky looked up at Gibbs questioningly, then redirected his gaze to the letter, muttering an 'oh my' upon reading the first few lines.

Bringing the elevator to a stop, waiting for the lights to switch over Gibbs faced Ducky, "Well?"

"It's intriguing." Ducky nodded enthusiastically.

"It's more than intriguing." Gibbs groused, uncharacteristically fidgeting in the small space.

"Where did you get it?"

Gibbs pointed with his eyes, "DiNozzo's ex playmate. Her father supposedly sent it to her."

"What does it mean?"

"You tell me."

Ducky huffed a quick frustrated sigh, "I must say this is getting very complicated, Jethro."

"Getting Ducky?" He said with bite, much too tired to be dealing with mysterious visitors at this time of night.

"You think she's involved or in just as much trouble as Anthony?" Ducky asked him knowingly.

"Rule #36 Duck." Gibbs turned around and flipped the car into motion once more, whispering "Rule #36."

.

"He, er," Tony nudged his head at the door Gibbs had just exited through, "takes a little getting used to," he finished nervously, understanding too late what he'd done wrong.

"Yeah, he's a delight." Shauna drawled grabbing her refilled handbag off the floor, "I can't find my smokes can I bum one of yours, this has all been very stressful."

Tony cringed, quickly and gingerly shutting the door.

"Yeah, you see, I don't really smoke." He whispered.

Shauna stared at him and then at the door.

"You're afraid of your boss finding out you had _a cigarette_?" She spat, like it simultaneously disgusted and amused her.

"No!" Tony denied, his voice a little too high to be believable. She gave him the same narrow eyed look she'd worn at eight whenever she caught him in lie, "Yeah okay," he gave in, "but please don't tell him…"

The shock morphed into a chuckle, not that Tony appreciated being the source of her amusement, but at least it was a feeling he was familiar with.

"Sure. But _I _still need one and I don't care if he doesn't like it." Shauna pulled herself up onto her ridiculously high heels and walked out.

She walked elegantly enough down the stairs, but trailing after her Tony no longer saw the long legs and swinging hips. Instead he chased after her in much the same way he had done more than twenty years before…

"Who here has a cigarette for me?" Shauna demanded walking into the middle of the bullpen, garnering the attention of everyone still present.

Tony caught up to her by jumping the last few steps and running around the stair case, he tried looking nonchalant as he arrived to stand behind her, giving Kate, McGee, Abby and Palmer a wide toothy grin, but only succeeded in looking very, very nervous.

"I'm sorry, we don't smoke." Kate told her rather smugly, offering Shauna one of the fakest smiles Tony had ever seen.

_Bitch fight Bitch fight Bitch fight._

Kate would slap him for even thinking it, but it had been clear from the moment he'd walked Shauna in that his partner didn't like his childhood friend. It was a typical women reaction, fighting over the home turf, in this case the home turf being him. Tony grinned, liking the mental image he'd created very much.

"Tony!" Kate shouted

Judging by her pissed off face when he finally looked her way, he gathered it wasn't for the first time.

"Yes?" He responded innocently, acting, badly, like he hadn't just been imagining her and Shauna in-

"DiNozzo!" She screamed again, knocking him right out of his fantasy.

Kate nudged her head in the direction Shauna had left and with an apologetic grin he ran off after her, leaving only Abby smiling in his wake.

.

"What do you think they're talking about out there?" Kate asked McGee, keeping an eye on Tony from the squad room window.

She was watching Shauna smoke in the yard below the window where she and Tony seemed to be having a pleasant conversation. At least that was what it looked like the second and third time Kate had told him to 'quick, come look at them'.

"I don't know." McGee groaned from his desk, having gone back to working on the information Abby had sent him regarding Bell and the psychiatrist.

McGee picked up his coffee, cold as it was and took a long drink.

"Well don't you think we should find out?" she pressed.

"I think you sound like a suspicious spouse." McGee muttered into his now empty cup.

"What?!" She snapped, tearing her gaze away from the couple outside.

"He said you sound like his wife," Gibbs clarified for her, walking in to the bullpen swiftly, tossing McGee a cell phone.

"What's this?"

"A cell phone, trace all incoming calls," he went behind his desk and stowed the brown envelope they'd seen him walk out the briefing room with in his desk.

"Whose is it?" McGee asked dumbly, holding the phone at arm's length, like he thought it might detonate any second.

"Hers!" Gibbs snapped, making him flinch and pointing out the window.

McGee got to work, tapping away on his keyboard, forgetting about Kate who still remained fixed by the window.

.

"I don't like her Gibbs." Kate announced when Gibbs joined her in staring down at Tony and Shauna.

"Ah huh." He answered noncommittally.

"You must think something's wrong or you wouldn't have taken her cell phone."

"Kate-"

"Gibbs-"

"The case," He turned to glare at her, making sure she looked him dead in the eye and saw how serious he was. "DiNozzo's still an agent, he can handle himself."

"Oh really," Kate rolled her eyes at him.

"Yeah, most days," He shrugged, adding a small smile.

Kate smiled back and with a little encouragement dragged her gaze away from the window and walked back with him towards their desks.

"You don't think I'm really acting like his wife?" she asked with a nervous laugh.

"Nah," Gibbs grinned, "more like his mother."

He walked away very quickly, preparing to make a sharp exit and head down to see what Abby had when McGee called him back.

"What McGee?"

McGee typed, fingers flying frantically over his keyboard and then pointed nervously at the plasma by Gibbs' desk.

"We got a hit on the bolo for the car Miller left in our parking lot," he used the clicker to bring up a traffic cam still, emailed to him from metro PD. "Look who's driving it."

.

Tony was still standing outside with Shauna, her second cigarette half smoked, when Gibbs and the rest of the team appeared behind them at the far corner of the building. It was too dark to see them clearly, and he wouldn't have noticed them at all but for Shauna's worried expression making him turning around to see what had her so concerned. He thought maybe Miller was still hanging around somewhere ready to pounce.

"I gotta go ladies room," she leaned in kissing his cheek, handing him the still lit cigarette.

She took off before Tony could say anything, leaving him trying to piece everything together when Gibbs reached him.

"Gibbs I swear it isn't mine." Tony hinted stubbing out the cigarette held in his right hand.

Gibbs slapped him around the head and raised his drawn gun, pushing Tony flat to the wall covering their exposed position the best he could

"She's gone Gibbs," Kate ran up to them, McGee joining seconds later with the same news.

"Boss? What's going on?" Tony asked, managing to turn away so he wasn't face planting the rough brick wall.

Shaking his head, Gibbs stepped away securing weapon, sighing quietly, "Get inside DiNozzo."

.

Minutes passed in silence, everyone, Tony, Gibbs, Kate and McGee sat at their desks watching the time count down on the clock towards midnight. In less than 35 minutes it would be Saturday, the twenty-fifth anniversary of his kidnapping and shut down of the Element 79 operation. They'd have to let his father go in the morning, having nothing to charge him with since the man hadn't actually confessed to anything illegal and they had no solid physical evidence to tie him to their case with Hannigan. The FBI would be compelled to give up all details relating to Element 79, including all the assets seized by the same team two years later. Miller, Senior and Bell would have a free pass to find that money. He didn't care to be truthful, FBI's fault for losing it in the first place, but if his supposed father was to be believed he was the key to finding it, which meant he either stayed in Gibbs' protective custody forever, or he ended the game. Right here, right now.

Tony knew there was something he could do, he'd been thinking about it since making an idiot of himself at Hannigan's crime scene and looking around at his equally dejected teammates, out of all other options, he believed now was the time to bring it to fruition.

"I have an idea boss." Tony spoke up making sure his voice was level and serious.

Gibbs barely moved his head to look over at him, but Tony caught his eye and held it, making sure his message was received loud and clear.

"No." Gibbs said after a brief pause, watching him.

Tony was going to protest, but Gibbs didn't even give him a chance to present his plan, standing swiftly he walked out of the bullpen.

"You don't even know what it is yet?" Tony chased after him, discovering the energy from somewhere.

Gibbs continued down the corridor ignoring his calls and walked into head so Tony, seeing no other option, followed him in.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs groaned, spinning around in the middle of the small room, pinning him in place.

"Gibbs we need to do something." He pleaded, letting the door swing slowly shut behind him.

"We are, but it's going to take time." Gibbs pointed out to him, like he was some hysterical victim who didn't understand what he was talking about.

"Time we don't have!"

"No," Gibbs repeated annoyingly calm. "It's them who don't have the time…"

Sick of having to take the kid glove treatment from everyone, Tony lost the last of his mental reserves holding him together and he snapped. "You don't even know what my idea is and you're shutting it down of all the egotistical-!"

"I know your idea!" Gibbs shouted. "You want to let Miller find you, you know as well as I do he'll approach you again. You are not bait DiNozzo!"

Tony laughed incredulously, trying to cover the surprise that he should be used to by now. Of course Gibbs knew what he was thinking it was what he'd suggest himself if the stakes weren't quite so personal. Thinking he knew Gibbs' issue, Tony sort to appease.

"Thanks boss, really but, I can handle it. It's not like he's going to hurt me, he thinks I know where the money is."

The sentiment didn't seemed to mollify him however, if anything it made Gibbs even madder.

"Have you thought about what he'll do when you _can't _tell him?"

Yes, he had actually, but before he could tell Gibbs that an uninvited and violent image flashed in front of his eyes, vivid and frightening it took all of Tony's effort to remaining standing.

"He might hurt me." He agreed, swallowing convulsively, hoping Gibbs hadn't noticed his slight hesitation.

"What was that?"

Seemed that was too much to hope for.

"What was what?" He tried to deflect.

"Don't play games with me DiNozzo. You looked like you were going to pass out, what's going on?"

"Nothing," Tony insisted, only he knew he wasn't very convincing.

Gibbs took a step towards him and Tony instinctively stepped back, not sure why he was suddenly so close to hyperventilating.

"You know what DiNozzo, if you aren't going to be honest with me this isn't going to work."

The words were spoken softly, without malice, yet carried the heartrending threat all the same.

"Gibbs I-" but Tony choked, the words dying on his lips.

.

"What do you think they're talking about in there?" McGee asked after five minutes and still no one had come out of the men's room.

Kate huffed, refocusing on the paperwork leftover on her desk, "if I know Tony he's decided he wants to take matters into his own hands."

"By doing what?" McGee frowned curiously at her across the quiet and mostly dark bullpen

Throwing down her pen Kate leaned back and stretched, "McGee how do you think Tony ended up getting kidnapped by that crazy waitress?"

"He er, was tracking a suspect…"

"And whose idea do you think that was?"

"Gibbs?" McGee hazarded a guess.

Kate tilted her head, considering the truth. "Gibbs did send him alone, but it was Tony's suggestion. Mainly because we had no leads and were running out of time."

She watched McGee assimilate that information.

"Ah, and right now with have no leads and-"

"We're running out of time…" they finished together.

After a brief pause McGee continued. "Gibbs sent him alone?"

Kate looked over at him and nodded sagely, it hadn't gone unnoticed by anyone, and by that she meant her Abby and Ducky that since then they always did all field work in pairs.

"Do you think Tony really does know where the money is, just doesn't remember?" McGee quickly changed the subject.

"It's possible I guess." Kate mused noncommittally

McGee appeared to give that some consideration before formulating his next question. "Do you think if they did get hold of Tony, they'll kill him like Hannigan, you know if they don't get the answers they want?"

"I think that's what Gibbs is afraid of." Kate gave him a serious look.

"I didn't think Gibbs got afraid."

"Everyone gets afraid McGee."

Kate was sure her tone would end any discussion he might want on the matter, but seeing McGee open his mouth about to ask yet another question she prepared to shut him down for good when a door could be heard being slammed across the now empty except for them squad room. They turned around to the source of the noise and saw Gibbs appear in her peripheral vision, marching over, looking more pissed off than ever.

"What happened?" She asked as he walked by heading for the elevator.

"DiNozzo happened." He snapped without stopping.

After watching him leave the floor, Kate turned back to see McGee doing the same and they shared a look. An unspoken agreement passed between them. Two beats pass and on three McGee produced scissors, where as she unfortunately, drew paper.

"Okay fine, I get Gibbs," she smiled cunningly, "but you, you get Tony."

Kate pointed back at the men's room, running off as soon as McGee turned to look.

"Hey! That's not fair," He shouted, chasing after her.

Kate stepped on the elevator just in time and waved with fake pity at McGee through the tiny gap in the doors as they closed in front of him.

.

Gibbs stormed down to interrogation. He was pissed off beyond belief at DiNozzo's arrogance. Yes he got that not being able to go home, everyone knowing his business was getting to him, and whereas normally they'd all work through the night, this case was not so simple. They needed to sleep, look at things fresh tomorrow. Gibbs really couldn't care less about finding the money. He'd much rather let them all get on with it and let the FBI deal with the fallout, but there was one variable in all that he didn't like. That DiNozzo might be the key to finding it.

"I want the truth." He shouted before even closing the door on the interrogation room. "Tony's willing to risk his life to get it I'd much prefer to risk yours."

"I've told you everything already." Senior insisted, he didn't look so great, but then being kept in a tiny room without natural light for over twenty-four hours would take it's toll.

"Not everything." Gibbs denied, finding enough energy to convince DiNozzo Sr he could make this last all night if he had too.

Senior's lips thinned, "Gibbs-"

"Tony's already been hurt once because of this, if you give a damn about him like you claim to, you'll help us before it's too late." Gibbs said lowly, "Miller and Bell are both after Tony because they think he knows where the money is. He doesn't, but I think you do."

"If I tell you what you want do I get a deal?"

"Another one?" Gibbs' eyebrows rose.

"You're asking me to confess to stealing FBI money. I don't much fancy federal prison Gibbs, plus I know I can walk out of here a free man in only a few hours. Everything will be mine again, why would I risk that?"

Gibbs got up in his face.

"Because Tony's life is in danger if you don't!" Gibbs' eyes narrowed, and he slammed a hand down on the table. "You tell me what I want to know, now!"

A look flitted across Senior's face, the same one he'd seen on his own father's face the day he left to join the marines.

"Okay," Senior sank into his seat, looking as tired as Gibbs felt. "You play a good game Gibbs, but I'm not as young as I used to be, I can't keep this up any longer, I'll tell you what you want to know, just promise me one thing."

"What?" Gibbs kept his tone neutral, not willing to start celebrating his victory just yet.

"Tell Tony," he paused, "tell my son, despite how crappy a dad I was to him, I really did love him like my own."

Gibbs fell back in his chair, staring at Senior across the table.

.

Angier than all hell at Gibbs, for his words, lack of faith in him, general dismissive attitude, heck all of the above, Tony ditched McGee quite easily by sending him on a run to the break room vending machines. Once alone, not really caring where Kate had gotten too he grabbed his coat and removed his badge and gun from his draw, leaving them on Gibbs' desk. Taking less than a minute to really think about what he was doing Tony made his way outside into the parking lot.

Once there it didn't take long before he saw a figure appear by his car, hiding in the shadows and instantly knew it was the person he was looking for.

"I know you're there." He called out, quickening his pace, "what the hell are you waiting for?"

"The right time," Shauna stepped out, coming to a stop beneath one of the flood lights.

"You?" He faltered, coming to an abrupt halt, his feet skidding on the asphalt.

"Who were you expecting?" She asked kindly, yet with a bite in her tone that suggested he'd been played and played well.

"Me perhaps," Miller came up from behind him.

Tony heard the distinctive sound of a gun being cocked. He risked a glance and saw the barely visibly hint of mental sticking out the folds out of Miller's jacket.

"Well according to Senior you've only got my best interests at heart." Tony quipped, showing he had nothing in his hands, that he wasn't armed.

"Always did Anthony, but I must say I'm pleased you haven't changed much, I knew once I dropped the seed you'd do anything to know what happened." Miller's smile was slimy, completely untrustworthy. "It'll make all this much easier."

Listening to him Tony doubted this guy had ever closed a deal in his life, which was probably what he'd needed Senior for back when they ran their business deals, that man could charm the pants of a cobra if he put his mind to it.

"Well, you did a good job," Tony formed a fist and tapped his head. "Don't remember a thing."

"I imagine you remember more than you think, especially after seeing that lovely doctor, Mary wasn't it? A perfect match for Agent Gibbs," Miller closed the space between them, to the point Tony could feel his breath on the back of his neck.

"You best not have hurt her." Tony growled low in his throat.

"Of course not," Miller dared to sound offended. "She did you a good service, I should thank her. And maybe I can fill in a few of the gaps for you. Questions you must be dying to know the answers to."

Tony frowned over the disjointed change in topic, but played along.

"And why would you do that?" He asked, sarcasm driving his words.

"Quid pro quo," Miller answered lightly.

Tony giggled, mentally adding and casting himself as Clarisse.

"'fraid not," he snarked. "I get it. I do. But you've branched into murder and for that I'm afraid, I'll have to arrest you." Tony dropped his hands and lifted his shirt, reaching for his cuffs. "My team is listening so you might as well come in quietly."

"Bell killed Hannigan and I can prove it." Miller eyed him with caution.

"Riiiight. And you only want to find the money so you can return it to the FBI." Tony dropped the tone and turned serious, "I know you're after your cut Miller, and I know you think I can help you-"

"I want more than my cut Anthony. I want it all." Miller's hold on the gun wavered slightly, and Tony thought his moment to act would come very soon. "I lost my family because your father sold out."

"Oh can it, we both know he isn't my father." Tony snubbed, thankful that Miller hadn't yet called his bluff about the team and decided to shoot him-

A memory blasted suddenly into his mind, unexpected and unwelcomed the nature of what he was seeing knocked him for six. The flashes had been building in intensity since after he'd confronted Senior, this time being the worse, spots formed before his eyes and his head actually felt like it may explode. Losing his balance Tony dropped to his knees, hands grabbed at him and he tried to fight them off, but he was too weak, the sudden headache leaving his entire body feeling limp and lifeless as he put all his effort into not passing out completely.

"Hannigan was the one who hurt you." Miller insisted, continuing as if nothing unusual was happening.

"No, no I remember him saving me." Tony managed to grind out.

He was sure that's what he remembered, it was vague but Hannigan's was the last face he saw before being left alone in that alleyway…

"You can't trust your memories Tony, you were so scared. We thought the ECT would help you deal with the trauma of what happened. I was the one who protected you, you and your dad."

"And yourself," Tony added, "if you'd gone to the police there would be no covering up what you all did. You'd have been in as much trouble as them."

"They could have killed you, I convinced them not to, I got you out - now why don't you thank me by helping us find that money?"

"And if I refuse?" He kept up his resolve, keeping an eye out for anyone else who might be lurking in the shadows. "Hurt me all you like, no one will care."

Tony had just said it for effect, but the words came so easily he had to wonder were they also true. The very reason he was out here was because Gibbs didn't want to look at him anymore. Kate and McGee had practical drew straws to see if he was okay. It could be the lack of sleep talking but right now he honestly felt that people might actually be relieved if he'd disappear. Then they could get back to their lives, like nothing had happened.

"If that's true then why not help us?" Miller whispered into his ear, and shamefully, Tony found himself not being able to come up with a decent answer.

.

"Where is he McGee?" Gibbs stormed into the bullpen Kate following him, cell phone to her ear.

"Got his voicemail again," Kate announced holding it out for them to listen.

Gibbs snatched it out of her hands, "DiNozzo! Get your butt back upstairs now!" He shouted into the receiver before tossing back to her.

"Erm, I don't know." McGee stammered, looking at Kate in panic, snapping his gaze back to Gibbs. "I mean, he was right here, he asked me to get him a chocolate bar from the break room, I wasn't gone that long, he should, should be here…"

Gibbs growled impatiently watching McGee look around the squad room as if he thought Tony was hiding under one of the desks. He looked at the ceiling for inspiration, but as he did so his gaze caught the sight of something on his desk. Walking over he realised it was two something's.

"God damn it." He angrily pulled open his draw and grabbed his own badge and gun. Pocketing DiNozzo's he marched out of the office.

Entering the garage at a jog Gibbs frantically scanned the area and immediately spotted DiNozzo's car parked in the same spot it had been the last three days. A knot undid in his gut with the knowledge that he hadn't left the yard in his own vehicle, but the respite from panic only lasted as long as it took to turn the corner. With Kate and McGee flanking each side Gibbs soon had Tony and an unwelcome visitor in his sights.

"DiNozzo!" He shouted breaking cover and raising his weapon.

Inching slowly forward, McGee and Kate following his lead, Gibbs recognised the man standing next to Tony as Henry Miller.

"Not another step Agent Gibbs," Miller shouted, reacting immediately to their presence.

Tony didn't move, he barely even acknowledged their presence.

"Henry Miller," Gibbs called, watching his agent warily, "you're under arrest."

"I said not another step!" Miller shouted again.

Gibbs made eye contact with Tony, but couldn't read him. He knew DiNozzo, knew he could get free of Miller if he chose to. Something was wrong.

"DiNozzo?" Gibbs risked calling to him, ignoring the gun being pointed in his face.

But Tony only stared back, eyes void of anything resembling emotion. No fear, no guilt, nothing. He looked completely shut down. A van pulled around the corner, coming to a screeching halt at the far end of the parking lot. The rear doors slid open and with the gun still aimed at them Miller quickly dragged Tony back towards it with one hand on his shoulder. Gibbs looked over their heads and got a good look at the driver. Not surprised in the least, he kept his own gun raised as he closed up the gap.

"DiNozzo step away from the van. Miller this is your last warning." He commanded.

Thunder spots started to rain down on them, another summer storm to counteract the extreme heat they'd been experiencing the last few days. The rain would destroy any evidence faster than the most inexperienced Probie if they got away. Miller reached the van and with one swift hand movement pushed Tony into it without a struggle. He could see Kate looking confused out the corner of his eye, but seeing the only opportunity they'd have Gibbs risked everything and took his shot. Miller ducked and the bullet ricocheted off the van. Kate and McGee dove for cover as soon as he'd fired, but he remained out in the open.

Gibbs heard the crack of the gun a split second before he felt the impact against his chest. Falling backwards, he had no time to come to terms with the excruciating pain he was in before he hit the asphalt.

TBC…


	14. Chapter 14

_Tony?_

Feeling the light breeze near his ear, he batted his hand out blindly, shooing the nuisance away.

_Tony?_

The whispery voice said again only with more urgency. He frowned, drawing his eyebrows down and together until he looked almost pained.

"Tony!"

Tony suddenly launched himself up, gasping, air rushing into his lungs so fast he choked out a hoarse _Gibbs!_ which died on his dry and chapped lips.

"Hey!" A pissed off voice snapped forcefully, making Tony jerk away before he could even open his eyes, "Hey," the same voice repeated, only much more gently and continued in the same fashion, "you're okay, DiNozzo."

That didn't sound right. The one thing Tony could be certain of right now was that he was most definitely not okay. His head was throbbing for one and the last thing he remembered was being unable to do anything while a madman shot at his Boss and teammates. Opening sore and gritty eyes he couldn't see much as he looked around the dark room, but when the voice spoke again he thought maybe he recognised the owner.

"Gibbs?" Tony squinted into the blackness trying to get a glimpse of the person standing above him.

It felt like his eyeballs where sucking in air and it was hard to keep his lids open for any prolonged length of time. The headache wasn't dissipating either, which made concentrating on his situation a little difficult too.

"You've been asleep awhile," Gibbs' voice said when he could do no more than blink and grab fists full of his hair to distract himself from the pain pounding away in his head, "you feeling ok?"

"I thought you got shot?" Tony quickly dismissed the question in favour of asking one of his own.

Blinking continuously to try and clear the fog that was obstructing his vision he could just about make out Gibbs' silhouette through the murky darkness. Whether it was actually dark or that was just his eye sight was a question he wasn't ready to ask.

"Come on, I'm taking you home." Gibbs told him.

Tony felt a warm palm take each of his and force him to loosen the hold he had on his hair. He frowned. The sensation felt off somehow, the hands holding his smaller than he remembered.

"Home?" Tony snatched his hands back as if the touch burned. "I thought I thought… I thought I was with Miller… What happened?"

"You collapsed in the parking lot. Don't you remember?"

"No." Tony shook his head, he really, really didn't.

He managed to open his eyes fully and was momentarily relived when he could see clearly for the first time. That was, until Gibbs smiled at him…

_Tony?_

The voice again, but this time Gibbs' lip didn't move.

_Tony?_

Tony covered his ears trying to block it out.

"Tony!"

He came to gasping, just like he had in the dream, almost coughing up a lung with the speed he sucked in air.

"Shauna?" Tony choked out, catching a brief glance of her sitting in-front of him before the coughing forced his eyes shut.

The van hit a pot hole jostling them both and Tony only narrowly avoided banging his head against the door. Swallowing down the nausea he took some time to ground himself, but quickly came to the conclusion that this was real, no doubt about it. As soon as the ride smoothed out enough for Tony to get his footing he pulled himself up and lunged for the doors. They didn't open despite him giving it everything he had, so he shouted as loud as he could, banging on the steel interior hoping someone on the outside would hear him and call the police. He wasn't expecting miracles, but he wanted to give McGee any help he could with the BOLO.

"Tony stop!" Shauna shouted at him.

"Why?" Tony snapped and spun around to glare at her.

"Why what?" She snapped back with a seething look.

Unable to voice what he truly wanted Tony screamed out of frustration and kicked at the door one final time before dropping to the floor, burying his head in his hands. He was hurt and scared and angry and didn't know which feeling he should address first. His head was hurting like a bitch - that unfortunately had travelled with him from his dream into the conscious world – and he couldn't understand how he'd managed to screw things up so badly in such a small space of time.

Sat on the other side of the van Tony heard Shauna huff her irritation with him. Sneaking a glance her way he saw her reached into her top and pull out a cigarette packet. Removing one she held it out, offering it to him. Tony bit his bottom lip to prevent him from mouthing off all the angry thoughts he was thinking about her and shook his head.

"It's not like he can object," she said as an aside, tucking the packet back in her bra, keeping the one out for herself. "He's gone. You don't need to be afraid of him anymore."

"I was never afraid of him!" Tony broke his vow of silence, tumbling over when the van took a sharp turn.

He remembered Gibbs getting shot, the image of his body, jerking with the force of the bullet before falling lifelessly to the floor of the NCIS garage, had been playing on an endless and torturous loop in the back of his mind since he woke up. He didn't need Shauna playing mind games with him, convincing him Gibbs had been as manipulative and controlling as every other authority figure in his life.

Shauna slid across the floor toward him, her tone soft "Look Anthony-"

"Don't call me that," he lashed out to prevent her getting any closer, his voice strained and broken.

"Okay," Shauna stressed like he was no more trouble than an especially difficult nine year old, "I know you're mad at me, but I didn't think telling you the whole truth would have been a good idea."

"Yes and lying works so much better." Tony snapped back, matching her sarcastic tone.

"Jesus, what do you want me to say?" She climbed to her knees.

Tony bit his lip hard before lifting his head and pinning her with a deadly look.

"I want you to say your dad didn't just kill the only person who ever thought I was worth something." He whispered dangerously.

"Hey _you_ got your boss shot," Shauna shot back, pointing at him angrily. "Don't try and pass the blame because you keep letting people control you."

"Nobody controls me." Tony laughed emphatically, masking his doubt.

"You're joking right? You _always_ did anything your dad asked to get his attention. He took advantage, took you for granted and it's the same with those people." Shauna wafted her hand in no particular direction, but he understood who she meant. "They say jump and you ask how high, you've not changed."

Shauna lit the cigarette she'd been holding and sat back looking innately pleased with her reasoning. Tony merely glared at her, trying to keep up the pretence of not believing her if nothing else.

The van stopped suddenly with a jolt, knocking them both off balance yet again. Tony continued to stare angrily at Shauna as he righted himself, doing everything in his power to control his breathing and prevent the impending panic attack her careless words had induced.

He heard a door being slammed shut up front and then the doors opened at the back letting in a sliver of predawn moonlight.

"We ready?" Miller stepped inside.

Tony didn't pause, he went for him, managing to reach and grab hold before another headache like the one that crippled him back at NCIS took hold. Unfortunately Miller wasn't as woozy and unsteady as Tony, so although he still fell under Tony's weight he didn't waste the advantage and quickly took back the upper-hand. Miller slapped him so hard Tony spiralled and face planted the floor. With his head feeling like it was packed full of wool he only just caught the sensation of cool steal going around his wrist, which told him Miller had found his handcuffs.

"Shame your agent Gibbs didn't put up this much of a fight to get to get you back," Miller chuckled pulling him up to lean against the side of the van next to the open door, "could have had some fun."

"Thought you said you weren't a killer." Tony whispered sourly, taking the opportunity to look outside to get an idea of where they were.

Miller leant down and grabbed his chin, forcing Tony to look him in the eye. They stared at each other and Tony tried not to let on how desperate and lost he was feeling. Miller's eye suddenly widened with understanding though, a twisted smile forming slowly on his face told him he'd failed at that too.

"It was self-defence, he left me no choice," Miller excused calmly, letting him go and giving a nonchalant shrug that had Tony fighting his cuffs just for the chance of getting a hit in. "I've done you a favour, Anthony. You're better off without him, him and your father."

"Gibbs is ten times the man that you or my father is," Tony spat.

"Was." Miller said bluntly, drilling his point home. "He's dead."

"You don't know that for sure." Tony hoped, prayed he didn't know for sure.

"They didn't even call an ambulance." Shauna stood up and joined her father looking down on Tony. "What does that tell you?"

Tony didn't know how they could know that, unless… he sighed and dropped his head to his knees. There was another accomplice, one working at the Navy Yard. It explained how Miller managed to freely enter and exit the navy yard despite the bolo, bringing that car in and parking it right outside the NCIS building? He'd been rubbing it in their faces the entire time...

"You're alone now. You need me." Miller grabbed his arm pulling Tony reluctantly to his feet.

"I need my friends." Tony managed to snap back, swallowing down his fear, hiding his true feelings the best he could. It wasn't easy despite all the practiced he'd had from living with his dad.

"You just got their boss killed you really think your friends will take you back?"

A loud knock on the van door saved Tony from having to really think about that question, which was lucky for him because if they were telling the truth and Gibbs really was dead he knew he wouldn't like the answer.

"Our ride's here," Miller announced, dragging him roughly towards the door.

Covering the handcuffs with her jacket Shauna quickly followed as Miller pushed him out of the van. Tony tripped over his own feet when he fell, but he managed to make the distraction last long enough to take a good look at his surroundings and immediately recognised his location as Pax River Airbase.

"What's happening?" He asked as they purposefully made their way across the tarmac towards a small charter plane ready and waiting on the runway.

As the trio approached Miller broke off to have a conversation with someone whom Tony assumed was the pilot and Shauna stepped up to board the plane, turning around to look down on him with a smile.

"We're going home Tony."

She then turned her back on him and climbed the stairs, assuming he'd follow. Miller was still conversing, paying him no attention. This was probably going to be his best chance to make a run for it… but then what did he have to run to? The answer devastated him. No one. Without Gibbs in his life he really was all alone. He'd burnt his bridges with NCIS that was for sure, even if he still had his job who would work with him after this? McGee and Kate would never trust him, Abby and Ducky would hate him and Palmer would most likely not want to associate with him on the basis that he'd be blacklisted by proxy. Tony now understood why Gibbs was so against his plan in the first place. Taking stupid risks never paid off, he should have known that without the boss having to shout it at him. All Tony had wanted was to end this and at the time hadn't cared how, but now Gibbs had paid the ultimate price for his stupidity. Paid with his life.

He guessed his career in law enforcement really was over for him now, not that it matter much in terms of loss. He'd quit tomorrow if it meant Gibbs would still be alive. He'd told him three years ago, he didn't think he was cut out to be a cop and it seemed he'd just proved himself right. Feeling the shock wear off and grief begin to settle in Tony forced his feet to move and followed Shauna's path up the stairs. Boarding the plane he smiled sadly to himself thinking about all that he'd lost and wondered how the hell he could have screwed up so badly.

TBC…

A/N: As usual I thank each and everyone one of you for your reviews, they do mean a lot and tend to spur me on to write faster - 3. I hope you all enjoyed this one and just so you know I'm hoping to post the next few and penultimate chapter within the next couple of days so watch this space…. :D


	15. Chapter 15

"Nice to be home," Tony said sarcastically as the hired car pulled into the long driveway.

He was still cuffed, dying for a pee and had an even more urgent desire to scratch his nose. Altogether his uncomfortable situation was making him very cranky and difficult to live with. Of course his enforced companions and the rather bumpy landing into Republic airport, Long Island's very own strip reserved for the super-rich could also have something to do with it. The Pilot didn't seem too bothered by his predicament either, though anybody who transports a hand cuffed man without question probably isn't too bothered about much more than collecting his fee.

They stopped in front of the high gates guarding the immediate exterior of the property. He could see the house beyond and noted time hadn't treated it well at all. A few windows were broken and a trailing bush had overgrown, covering at least two thirds of the left side of the house. Most notable of all was the sign and pad lock on the gate denoting it as 'repossessed by the US government'.

Miller got out, producing a pair of bolt cutters from somewhere and solved that problem with a quick snip. He returned quickly to the car once the gate's where fully open and continued up the driveway towards the house. Tony stared at the home he once knew and, knowing what was about to happen could never be considered as a positive experience, tried to remember the happier times he'd spent there.

"Tony? You okay?" Shauna poked him in his side.

Since landing she'd returned to her flirty, playful persona. Acting as if she and her until recently estranged father hadn't just kidnapped him and flew him across the country to help find some money he hadn't even known existed until a few days ago.

"I'm fine," he whispered to her, wishing it were true.

The sun was nearly fully up and was casting a strange orange glow that bounced across the unkempt lawn as they pulled up.

"You know what I expect of you Anthony," Miller turned to look at him in the back seat.

With Shauna next to him and Miller driving it was hard not to feel like a little kid again. He was just as scared and alone now as he was back then. Trying not to think about what Miller expected Tony climbed out of the car without a word, his confused emotions over being here again intense.

"Kind of hard to do anything with my hands tied behind my back." He planted his feet, making it clear he wouldn't take another step.

Miller must have seen the determination on his face, or he didn't see him as much as a flight risk given they were miles from the nearest neighbours and he was as weak as a kitten after the horrendous flight up here in the pouring rain. He undid the cuffs with a silent warning that he wouldn't hesitate to shoot him if he tried anything. Not that that outcome would bother Tony much right now, the only reason he was still moving was because Gibbs had taught him never to give up, always fight. He felt it would be disrespectful if he went against Gibbs' rules now, after all he'd done to try and prevent this very situation from happening.

Leading the way Tony opened the large double doors and walked inside, he looked around and saw it was just as he remembered leaving it, nothing had been touched since they'd left.

"Wow, when the FBI seizes a place they really let it go to the dogs." He ran his finger through an inch of dust covering the mantle, accidentally knocking a baby photo of him off to hit the floor, breaking the glass.

No one reacted to the sound, Miller and Shauna where looking around in the same way he was, having had their own memories of the place the DiNozzo family once called home. They hadn't been a family here a very long time mind you, less than a third of his childhood in fact. Baring that fact in mind Tony wandered freely from room to room attempting to keep an open mind, which was hard to do when memories from his session with Mary where still fresh in his mind and distracting him from the fact he was being held against his will.

"You okay." Shauna came up on his side.

Tony slowly turned to look at her and acknowledged her seemingly genuine concern. Studying her he wondered what happened to push her to this kind of drastic action.

"Move it," Miller insisted coming up behind them, "This isn't a reminiscing tour, we get what we're here for and go."

"Well that's kind of difficult since I've no idea _what _I'm here for." He smiled sharply and anything but friendly, utilising his ability to use a smile as a weapon.

"Find the money," Miller lashed out, grabbing his collar and pushing him up against the wall cracking his head his head against it.

"I'm not going to help you." Tony eased out of his grasp, fighting to keep calm, knowing any fight he started he couldn't possibly finish.

Miller dropped his hands, only to a fake a walk away and turn back to kick him in the shins, sending him crashing to the floor.

"I'm offering to take care of you Tony, like your father should have." Miller kicked him again and again, this time in the stomach making Tony curl into himself. "I protected you twenty-five years ago and I'm willing to protect you again, but if you don't want my help that's fine, go back to NCIS and face your co-workers, explain how you let their precious boss die."

Tony coughed into his hand, having it come away bloody. "You're pretty tough for an old guy."

"Dad," Shauna childe, "he's hurt."

"He's fine. Aren't you kid?" Miller clapped him on his back, acting like he hadn't just kicked the living shit out of him.

Tony closed his eyes and tried to regroup, but his mind wandered away and the last image he saw before passing out was Gibbs falling to the floor clutching his chest. When he opened his eyes again a familiar face was looking down at him.

"Ducky?" Tony squeaked, blinking to clear his sight, "What's going on?"

"My dear boy how could you?" He whispered before walking away looking disappointed.

"What?" Tony sat up immediately and ran after him, "Ducky wait!"

His call fell on death ears and unable to keep up Tony stumbled, landing heavily on his knees as his legs jellied out on him.

"Tony!" A voice called from behind.

"Kate?" He rubbed his eyes, trying to confirm it really was her walking down the elaborate staircase, "is that you?"

"You did this Tony, you're so stupid and immature I told you someone would get hurt because of you."

Kate shook her head in that way which told Tony she was secure in her superiority over him. He blinked several times, not understanding why she would say such a thing to him. Despite her teasing he'd always thought Kate secretly liked him, otherwise…

"You killed him Tony." Another voice came out of the dark, breaking his thought processes. "This is All. Your. Fault."

"Abby I'm sorry!" Tony tried to catch her before she disappeared like the others, but fell to his knees before he could reach her, sending searing pain all the way through his body until it reached his head.

When he opened his eyes McGee was stood before him, just within the shadows.

"Probie" he called out to him, extending a hand indicating he needed help to stand up, but McGee turned his back on him without a word and walked away.

Tony scrambled to his feet on his own, pushing through the pain and tried to chase him, but the orange NCIS corridor seemed to expand before him.

"Probie!"

"Tony!"

Tony's eyes shot open, his breathing quick and irregular. "What happened?"

"You passed out." Shauna helped him sit up.

He frowned and felt the throbbing lump on the back of his head, hand coming away bloody.

"I think your dad had a hand in that." He grimaced, seeing that he'd never left the DiNozzo living room

"Get the hell up," Miller shouted back at him walking into the room, "we don't have time for naps."

"Dad, you really hurt him this time," Shauna began to protest, her confident tone wavering in the presence of her dad.

"This time?" Tony repeated suddenly, catching onto what she had just said.

Miller backhanded him before he could ask again, splitting his lip.

"Now he's hurt!" He shouted at Shauna.

Shauna stood up before Tony could even guess at what had just happened, "Don't you touch him again!"

Miller stared at his daughter, betrayal strong in his angry gaze. Tony watched them face off, but could do nothing about it, still reeling from his own recently sustained injuries he was too exhausted to get between their family scrabble. His head was hurting again too. Cupping his nose and seeing the blood a memory sprung uninvited in his mind. There was a flash of that wavy lined tattoo on an arm holding him around his neck and someone else hit him in the face. Tony came back to reality with a gulp, using his already stained T to mop up some of the blood now oozing from his head, nose and lip. Gibbs had been right this was a stupid plan.

"Boss please don't be dead I need you, I can't get out of this alone." He whispered pulling up his knees and feeling his pockets for something that might help plug the bleeding without him having to strip out of his clothes.

His hands wrapped around something and he pulled out a folded piece of paper. Opening it he read the short message, remembering it as the note Gibbs had given him only that morning upon arresting his dad.

"Rule 8" He said with sad regret and a hint of nostalgia.

Well he'd broken that rule. He was afraid, after all his spouting about leaving the team, because of this he'd taken them for granted, taken Gibbs for granted and there would be no taking it back. What he had at NCIS, the support and protection, he should have been honoured to have and taken it as the gift that it was. These people cared enough to put their lives on hold for him and all he'd done was be stupid and selfish in return. It needed to stop. Gibbs might be dead, but then he might not be, he might still rescue him, but then he might not, Tony having burned those bridges by disobeying a direct order. Whichever way it was, Tony knew he needed to do his best and keep himself alive. He needed to not take the actually quite wonderful life and family he did have for granted ever again if he was lucky enough to get it back.

Standing up Tony interrupted the staring contest and purposefully made his way into his father's office, Shauna and Miller on his heels. He wasn't sure, but his gut was drawing him in, one thing he did remember like it was yesterday was that this was where it had all began.

"Tony?" Shauna asked after a minute of him staring around the large room with the giant oak desk.

Tony blinked, it was disorienting standing before the desk without having first poured his father a drink and preparing to stutter through a recount of his school day. He glanced at Miller stood looking impatient off to the side and tried to remember why it was he thought this room was important.

"Hannigan didn't hurt me." He whispered to himself almost like a chant, trying to rekindle the memory he'd recovered under hypnosis.

The sudden click of a gun broke the silence, indicating they had company. All three immediately turned as one towards the open doorway.

"No, that was me." Bell purred, gun cocked and aimed at Tony, blocking their only exit.

Miller stepped forward, obviously surprised to see him, "What are you d -"

Bell shot him before he could finish his sentence, flinging him back into the wall to slide silently to the floor after only the one bullet. He aimed at Shauna next when she screamed.

"Shouldn't trust a dancing girl, Tony." Bell winked at him and went to squeeze the trigger again.

"Stop!" Tony shouted, stepping in front of Shauna, blocking the shot.

"Get out of the way kid." Bell snarled, moving around trying to get a shot, Tony matching each and every step until he once again found himself facing the desk instead of the door. "I'm going to kill her anyway don't make this more difficult than it has to be."

"You'll have to shoot me first, oh wait you can't!" Tony purred, "You need me to tell you where the money is."

"I don't need you, I want you dead!" Bell shouted, "You're the reason I got sent to that hell hole in the first place!"

Bell continued to rant at him about things Tony had no idea about, though it sounded as though he'd spent a good part of the last twenty odd years locked up, which, if he really wasn't after the money, explained why this madman hadn't come after him until now.

"Ever get that feeling you've completely misjudged a situation?" He whispered to Shauna standing closely behind him.

"Tony what the hell are you doing?"

"Saving your life," he quickly whispered back before speaking in a louder tone to Bell, showing more of his nervousness than he would have liked. "You should put your weapon down."

"That's a good idea."

Tony nearly dropped upon hearing the newest voice to join their little party. It was so comfortingly familiar and steady, strong like always. Spinning around to see him standing before them, gun in hand aimed straight at Bell, Tony actually had to fight the urge not to cry.

TBC…

A/N: 2 in one night ;) ttfn


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: make sure you've read chaps 14 and 15 before this or it'll make no sense ;)

…

"My god what happened?" Ducky gasped when he saw Gibbs drag himself through the autopsy doors, blood covering his shirt.

"Miller shot him," Kate appeared right behind him, hands held out ready to offer support if needed with an anxious looking McGee trailing on her heels.

Ducky looked over at Jethro for some kind of explanation, but he offered nothing more than a grunt of agreement as he pulled himself up onto a free table and gingerly lay down.

"Well have you called an ambulance?" Ducky asked the two younger agents incredulously.

"No they haven't, and they won't," Gibbs managed to give each of them a pointed look from his prone position on the table, the effort to speak a struggle in and of itself, "get back… upstairs… B-"

"Bolo out on the van boss," McGee blurted and ran from the room looking extremely pleased to have somewhere else to be.

"Gibbs-" Kate chastised and stepped toward him.

"Go…" Jethro growled sounding tired and overwrought.

"But-"

"Please…"

Kate's jaw dropped as did Ducky's. She hesitated, looking lost in confusion for mere seconds before finding her feet and managing to walk out without further protest. Jethro flopped bonelessly to the table and Ducky stared contemplatively at the doors as they closed behind her, his mind working through what questions to ask first when his attention was drawn prematurely back to Gibbs.

"You're in pain." He stated in chastisement, seeing Gibbs was struggling to sit back up.

"You could say that," Gibbs groused removing his blood soaked jacket with a groan.

Ducky sighed heavily, but didn't push. Turning his back to fetch his living people medical bag he held in all the burning questions, knowing that his friend would tell him what he needed to know soon enough. However, on turning back to find him walking steadily over to the sink Ducky couldn't contain his concerns any longer.

"Jethro!"

"Stand down Duck." Gibbs dismissed him with a half-hearted wave, removing his Jacket and shirt carefully.

Seeing, not the expected bullet wound hole, but a tack vest Ducky hardened.

"Jethro what the hell is going on?" He shouted, outraged that Gibbs had let them all believe he'd been shot.

"Contingency plan," Jethro told him straight and without apology.

He dropped his jacket and shirt to the floor and undid the vest to reveal some spectacular bruising where the bullet had hit the vest at close range and sent him to the floor.

"Tell me." Ducky commanded.

He watched him wash away the obviously fake blood and handed him a towel, which was accepted with a nod of thanks. Ducky then folded his arms, making it clear he was going nowhere until he knew exactly what was going on.

"We had an argument." Gibbs sighed impatiently, arms braced against the side of the sink refusing to look at him.

"Jethro you may believe that explains this but it really doesn't." Ducky stressed with forced patience.

Gibbs pushed away from the sink, a look of pure desolation falling over his face. He paced the room without answering, surprising Ducky when he formed his hand into a fist and lashed out at the wall opening his palm at the last second so it slammed flat against the solid surface.

Broken hand narrowly averted Ducky still flinched from the impact. He was well aware of Gibbs' unorthodox methods of dealing with emotions, but this behaviour seemed completely over the top. He dreaded to think what young Anthony could have done to cause this reaction in his usually rather resilient friend.

"Where is he?" Ducky looked around, half expecting to see Tony looking sheepish in a corner.

Realisation quickly set in though when he was nowhere in sight. Gibbs wasn't the only one with gut instincts.

"With Miller," Gibbs answered resignedly, confirming his thoughts, a note of failure in his voice.

Ducky stepped sadly towards him "How?"

Gibbs dropped the hands covering his head, almost tearing his hair out and turned to face him, "Damn fool walked out and went with the bastard. His daughter too."

"Well do you care to share why?" Ducky demanded, feeling the familiar anger beginning to surface, "Because I don't believe for second despite the issues with his father or his upset over this whole affair Tony would just give up and side with a potential murderer!"

Instead of the expected heated rebuttal that he'd not done or said anything to Tony that hadn't needed to be said Gibbs turned away from him, a look of despair Ducky couldn't remember ever seeing before marring his face.

"He had an idea and I shot it down," Gibbs huffed looking defeated, like he'd misjudged the entire situation. "Idiot's gone and done it anyway."

Ducky sighed and walked over to his desk. He sensed there was going to be a whole lot more he needed to know before he could offer anything reassembling useful advice for this situation.

"I think you better explain." He said gravely, pulling out a chair, "Everything Jethro."

…

"Oh my god oh my god oh my god," Abby ran into the bullpen, black boots clomping, impeding her progress as she headed straight for Kate and McGee stood in deep conversation front of the plasma.

"Abby, calm down," Kate stepped forward to greet her, holding out her hands.

Abby grabbed hold clamping her fingers around Kate's wrists and squeezed tightly.

"Calm down?" She screamed, "Calm down? Gibbs has been shot! Tony's missing! I can't calm down!"

"Okay," Kate nodded, pulling out of her iron grip and pushing her back to perch on Tony's desk, "but we are trying to find Tony and Gibbs is fine."

"Fine?!" she screamed again, jumping to her feet. "How can being shot be fine? And Tony's with that, that man! You going to tell me that's fine too?!"

Kate frowned and took a breath, not sure how she was going to sell it. It was taking everything she had to stay calm herself, what with Gibbs refusing to go to hospital, they didn't know how serious the wound was, it had looked like a direct hit, but then if it was Gibbs would hardly be walking...

"Ahhh, I don't know, it makes no sense." She stepped away, her own mind being her worst enemy right now.

Abby was doing what Abby did when bad stuff happened and was freaking out, but she couldn't afford to do that. Gibbs was indisposed and Tony was missing, which left her in charge of what was left of the team until those circumstances changed. The reality of it hit her hard. No matter how often she'd claimed to have done a better job or expressed her belief she'd be the wiser choice as second lead given Tony's often demonstrated immaturity, she wasn't ready for this. Suddenly regretting every derogatory mean word she'd said about him Kate was only saved from her unravelling despair by Palmer, who came running into the empty squad room looking more suspicious than panicked.

"Palmer? What are you still doing here?" Kate checked her watch, it was officially Saturday and they were reduced to mere hours to solve the case and find Tony before the little power they did have was lost.

"Jimmy, how's Gibbs?" Abby pushed Kate aside.

"He's er good," Palmer wrung his hands together, "Dr Mallard sent me up here to get, erm, that's to say he asked me to-"

"What do you mean good? He was shot Palmer!" Abby shouted at him, "That's never good!"

Unlike Kate, Palmer had a very thin defence barrier and she felt great sympathy when he flinched away, nearly knocking into McGee who was rifling through the file cabinet.

"Sorry, he's fine." Palmer cleared his throat and spoke with more confidence. "Just needs a clean shirt."

"That's all? Gibbs' isn't going to hospital?" Abby asked sounding as confused as Kate felt.

"Yep," Palmer smiled, nodding his thanks as McGee handed him exactly what he wanted. "And he said we should all go home."

Kate's eyes nearly popped out of her head and looking over she could see both McGee and Abby sharing the same shocked expression while Palmer was looking at each of them as if he was hoping for a hi-five or something.

"Go home?" McGee echoed.

"No. Gibbs did not say that." Abby shouted stubbornly, stomping her feet and moving off at speed towards the elevator. "I'm going to see him."

"No, wait!" Palmer called out, running after her and planting himself between her and the doors.

She took a step sideways to go around him but Palmer matched it, backing up ever so slightly when Abby leaned in so she was mere centimetres from his face.

"Jimmy, get out of my way," Abby growled at him, narrowing her eyes trying to look scary.

"You can't, can't go down there," he spoke bravely, risking the wrath of one very pissed off forensic scientist.

Kate would have felt sorry for him if she weren't suspicious of his actions and instead elected to join Abby.

"Why?" Kate dragged the word out eyeing Palmer with severer distrust.

"Because, er, he told me to tell you… not to," He stuttered, obviously lying.

"But he's hurt! And Tony's missing!" Abby shouted at him.

"Yes and, er well no…" Palmer flinched when Abby suddenly raised her fist.

"No?" Kate parroted in disbelief.

"Palmer?" McGee, caught up to them, having been hovering somewhere in the background watching how the confrontation played out. "Tell us what we want to know."

He spoke low and dangerous, like he'd been gearing up for this for weeks, not 30 seconds. It wasn't a McGee move to be threatening, but then Palmer being about the only person at NCIS McGee could possibly intimidate he didn't often get the chance.

"Look they told me not to say anything," Palmer caved immediately, unsurprisingly to everyone present.

"What?" Kate and Abby demanded, standing side by side with matching glares.

"What?" Palmer parroted.

"That's what I asked you." Abby stamped her foot, closing in on him Kate mirroring her on the other side.

"Who told you not to say anything?"

"I…" he paused, seeing he was surrounded.

"Wait Gibbs said go home?" McGee dropped his threatening persona.

Kate looked over at him, she could see he was thinking something and Palmer was watching them nervously.

"What McGee?" Abby snapped.

"We should do as he says." Everyone was looking at him like he was out of his mind, including her. "Well he didn't say whose home, did he?"

…

"You mind telling us what's going on Gibbs?" Kate's angry voice travelled over to him as her heels clinked down his basement steps.

Gibbs looked at Ducky with raised eyebrows, indicating he knew he was in for a tongue lashing worthy of an ex-wife and reached for the bourbon to prepare himself for what he knew he had coming. As it turned out Kate wasn't his only visitor, her swift steps were quickly followed by Palmer's less than graceful ones running down the stairs, Abby and McGee joining close behind.

"Doctor Mallard I'm so sorry," Palmer excused immediately. "I know you told me not to say anything but-"

"It's okay Mr Palmer. You did very well." Ducky reached out and patted Jimmy on the arm.

Gibbs smiled in the face of the one worried glance and three other pissed off ones aimed his way.

"But you told me…" Palmer gaped at Ducky first then Gibbs. "You set me up?"

"You set us up?" Kate repeated outraged, hands going immediately to her hips.

Gibbs downed his drink, well aware they had a lot of ground to cover here and not a lot of time so saw no point in denying anything. Surveying the mood of the room, Palmer looked hurt, McGee was doing his best to blend into the background behind a still very angry Kate and Abby was practically bouncing with excitement.

"Oh this is why I love working with Gibbs!"

Abby broke from the group and bounced over to him giving him a hug. He nearly toppled back with the force. Between her and DiNozzo he could imagine if he didn't die on the job, it would by suffocation if they ever decided to double team him.

"We saw you get shot…" McGee brought them back on topic

"I was." He pointed out casually.

"You were wearing a vest." Kate growled eyes narrowed showing her disappointment. "What the hell is going on? Where's Tony?"

"Yeah Gibbs, where's Tony, is he all right?" Abby sobered slightly, pulling away.

"I'm sorry," Ducky said to the rest on his behalf when he couldn't bring himself to answer that last question, "but the subterfuge was necessary. We couldn't risk having this conversation within the walls of NCIS. Tony's life may well depend on it."

"Why?" Abby demanded not seeing what everyone else had.

Gibbs shared a look with Kate and McGee

"Because there's a mole inside NCIS," McGee spoke first.

"Or at least the Navy yard, someone's been allowing Miller access." Kate continued.

"Assuming whoever it is has been in contact with them since they left with Tony I wanted to make sure that Miller thinks there's no chance he's being pursued." Gibbs clarified the reasons for his deception.

"Okay," Abby said forcing herself to remain calm, "but why does Miller and that psycho Shauna have Tony in the first place?"

Gibbs poured another drink and sipped it this time. "DiNozzo came to me with an idea." He started resignedly.

"And?" Kate snapped, still extremely irked and clearly unwilling to let him even pause for breath.

"And I told him it was stupid." He eyed her, matching her tone making it clear, though he understood she was mad, he wasn't going to be apologising anytime soon.

"I'm afraid young Anthony being Anthony has decided to go ahead with his plan without our assistance and has unfortunately put himself in harm's way." Ducky picked up the narrative, divulging what Gibbs had already explained to him back in autopsy.

Harm's way was an understatement, Gibbs almost chuckled. Ducky really had a way of communicating even the most horrendous news with the utmost amount of calm.

"Why would he do that?" Abby whined, "He knows we're here for him."

"It's not you Abs," Gibbs corrected her immediately. He didn't want any of them thinking this was anyone's fault but his.

Had he only listened to not just the words, but also what Tony wasn't telling him, then maybe this could have all been avoided. He was a stubborn bastard alright, DiNozzo being the one that usually warned others of that fact, if only the stupid kid had remembered his own advice he'd have never followed him into the head and this could have all been avoided. But then that wasn't fair, not really. Tony needed him to not be a bastard for a change, needed him to stop being Boss and start being Dad. Ducky had told him enough times to tread carefully, Abby had tried to warn him when it looked like he was missing a big honking piece of the puzzle, hell even Kate had added her two cents, but he'd never listened to either one. Gibbs knew, deep down he knew, whatever happened to them from this point forward, he'd pushed Tony into this.

"What was his plan?" McGee asked.

Gibbs felt uncomfortable for a second, remembering the last conversation he'd had with Tony. He certainly wasn't proud of his reaction when DiNozzo had first made the suggestion, hell it didn't even compare to the argument they'd had in the car the other day. As for his plan, well the very idea made him mad just thinking about it.

"To offer himself up to Miller, find the money and shut this down for good." He summarised the best he could, leaving out the more personal aspects.

"Bait?" Kate spat the word. Gibbs nodded, he couldn't agree more. "Of all the stupid-"

"-Which is why I said no." Gibbs pointed out sensibly before things got too out of hand.

"Yeah, but Gibbs you knew he'd try it anyway," Kate glared at him.

She'd tried to talk to him after his confrontation with Tony, going so far as to follow him all the way to interrogation, but he'd shut her down. Now she was seething that he hadn't told her about Tony's idea or his own little counterplan that his gut had insisted he needed.

"Maybe I did, but what's done is done," Gibbs took a big gulp of his whiskey, aiming to push all thoughts other than rescuing Tony out of his mind for the time being.

"So he's put himself undercover? Without backup?" McGee squeaked, as if he couldn't believe Tony would ever take such a risk.

"He's right, that's stupid - even for Tony." Kate folded her arms, getting over her anger enough to be constructive.

"Yep," Gibbs tossed back the rest of his drink, "and when I catch him, I'm going to kick his ass."

"But does he know we know?" McGee continued, "Or does he think we think he's been kidnapped?"

"He thinks he just got me shot McGee." Gibbs snapped sadly.

"You mean that wasn't part of the plan?" Abby shot up from where she'd perched on his half-finished boat.

"Not to him it wasn't."

"Oh Gibbs-"

"It's the best way to keep him safe," He turned to Abby, about the only other person next to Ducky he'd feel the need to explain himself to, "if Miller thinks I'm dead he won't question Tony's loyalty to him."

Everyone, Ducky, Palmer, McGee, Kate and Abby all fell silent, contemplating the grave situation. Gibbs knew exactly how they felt, even if he didn't show it well. He wasn't sure where to go from here, all he was sure about was that they had to get Tony back. Their last words to each other could not be their last words. He couldn't live with yet another voice echoing in his head, another voice begging him not to leave.

"But what about Tony thinking you're dead?" Abby spoke softly into the silence, pulling him away from his overlapping memories.

Gibbs nodded that he understood what she was saying, but he didn't have an answer for her. He'd made many decisions in his life, done many things based on what he thought was best. Many for Tony in particular, but nothing quite compared to what he was inflicting on him right now.

Abby, ever astute caught onto to his train of thought. "Gibbs that's risky."

Yeah and he knew how risky, because he knew exactly how Tony would react to seeing him hurt. It didn't take Gibbs long to realise the kid from Baltimore had no one he could readily depend on in a crisis. He had some casual friends, but no family. No one to turn to when it hit the fan, no one to look out for him, no one to keep him safe.

"So is going undercover without the proper back up, but that's DiNozzo," Gibbs smiled in spite of himself, "if he doesn't have a concussion by the end of this I'm going to damn well give him one."

"Well we need to get back to NCIS, find that van and where they're taking him." Kate started walking, heading for the stairs.

"I know where they're taking him." Gibbs spoke, his words drawing her back.

Palmer surprisingly spoke up next, "Where?"

He looked at each of them, the weight of what he was about to impart heavy in his heart.

"New York."

TBC…


	17. Chapter 17

"You're still troubled," Ducky said, having followed Gibbs upstairs into the kitchen sensing something was amiss.

After he'd told them all about his most recent conversation with Senior, why Miller was most likely heading to New York and more specifically Long Island, to the previous childhood home of one Anthony DiNozzo Jr. he'd left them with orders to work on a plan to get him back unharmed. Knowing Jethro as well as he did, he felt it only prudent to put his own skills to equally good use too. The agents and Abby didn't need his help, but he sensed his old friend did.

"He threatened to quit once already Duck." Gibbs sighed, prepping and turning on his coffee maker.

"Jethro," Ducky stressed softly, not believing his ears "you yourself have threatened to fire him many times and not once have you followed through."

Gibbs reached into a cupboard and picked out several mugs, dropping them on the side without due care.

"He's always corrected himself." He shrugged.

"Always?" Ducky chuckled, a light smile gracing his lips.

He could count on one hand the number of times Anthony _hadn't_ pushed the limits of Gibbs' tight rein on him. He'd heard many excuses over the years, ranging from a complete lack of faith to a 'it's for his own good', but as Ducky had pointed out many times, it always came down to a severe case of overprotectiveness, the likes of which he'd not seen Jethro inflict on anyone else other than Abigail.

"Or ended up in so much trouble I'm just grateful he isn't dead…" Gibbs replied seeming to understand the irony.

He knew Jethro was referring to the incident with the waitress in the sewers and chose to ignore that comment for now. He could only deal with one crisis at time.

"You think Anthony went ahead with this because he has no intention of staying?" Gibbs gave him a raised eyebrow look, telling Ducky it had crossed his mind. "Tony is probably relying on your capacity for forgiveness and has every intention of coming back to us." He pointed out, not wanting Gibbs to lose faith in Tony or himself. "I even believe it's one of your many rules is it not?"

"Better to seek forgiveness than ask permission, rule eighteen." Gibbs recited with a small nostalgic smile.

"He's your boy, can't complain when he does as you taught him." Ducky poured the coffee and handed Gibbs a full mug, pleased it hadn't taken much to turn his mood around.

Unfortunately that good mood didn't last long, watching the distant and searching look he could sense trouble was brewing.

"Ah Duck," Gibbs sighed on cue, "this is all my fault. I could have prevented this."

The defeated tone and body posture spoke to his state of mind. It was difficult to see and Ducky now knew why Gibbs had removed himself from the basement. He didn't want his team to see him fall apart.

"That's the reaction of a father Jethro, not an agent." Ducky said softly, hoping he'd see it as sympathetic understanding, not pity.

"One minute I'm being a bastard the next I'm too soft I don't know what you want from me!" Gibbs snapped, anger and frustration burning brightly behind intense blue eyes.

"I want nothing from you." Ducky snapped back at him. "Tony on the other hand needs your help. He's obviously scared and not thinking straight, otherwise he wouldn't have been so foolish as to put himself in danger like this. He needs you to bring him home Jethro and you are no good to him if you're blaming yourself."

"And what do you suggest I do until then?" Gibbs said judiciously after a brief pause, clearly forcing his tone to remain level.

"When this is over and he's safe you can be the father to him you so clearly desire to be." Eyes sparkling Ducky leaned in, a knowing smile teasing his lips. Gibbs looked about ready to deck him, but Ducky knew he was probably one of very few people who could get away with pointing out the truth. "Until then he needs you to do your job, be the Leroy Jethro Gibbs people fear."

His eyes flashed and Ducky knew Gibbsknew exactly how to be a bastard.

…..

"You think Gibbs is okay?" Kate asked the room at large while McGee unpacked and plugged in his laptop.

"He's fine." Abby insisted from her perch on the boat. "Or he will be, once we get Tony back."

"You know until this happened, I'd swear Gibbs only tolerated Tony, but he's been a real bear since this started and that's saying something."

"Gibbs loves Tony." Abby said with a huge smile. "Like he loves us all."

"All of us?" McGee questioned drolly, watching Abby close her eyes and lift her arms pretending to give them all a hug.

"He hasn't known you that long, give it time. I've been here a long time."

"As long as Ducky?"

"No one's been here as long as Ducky," Abby debunked, "Anyway, what I was saying is we're family. He brought Tony home from Baltimore like this cute little lost puppy and he'll bring him home again." She finished forcefully.

Kate grinned at the image. She had to admit, if only to herself, she could well imagine Tony with his big green vulnerable eyes and wide smile pulling at even the toughest marine's heart strings.

"You know why Gibbs hired him?" Kate asked, "Because all he'll tell me is 'he smiled'."

"I know some." Abby shrugged and avoided eye contact with them, suddenly subdued.

McGee and Kate glared.

"Ok I know what happened way after. His fiancée and…"

"Fiancée?" Kate echoed.

"DiNozzo engaged?" McGee's jaw dropped, "Oh my god."

"Forget I said that. My point is Tony is family." She smiled proudly, "Only he doesn't quite get the whole being loved thing..."

"Dead mom, absent dad," Kate nodded sagely.

The room fell silent. It was a sad and not something she thought about when Tony was being his bright happy childish self. Anyone who didn't know the truth would assume DiNozzo grew up happy and rich, never wanting for anything because that was the façade he put across. Shame the reality was so far from truth.

"You know it's really hard to be annoyed by him when you put it like that." McGee frowned at her, breaking the sombre mood. "And if Gibbs cares so much why is he always slapping us in the head?"

"Well I guess it makes Tony feel wanted." Abby smiled sadly. "You'll see. Gibbs will be all soft and gooey when we get him back." Kate looked at her, "after he tears into him enough to make a marine cry of course.

"Sounds more like Gibbs." McGee agreed.

…

"Gibbs we have a lead." Kate entered the kitchen with McGee on her heels.

"A plane was just chartered from Pax River. Pilot logged a flight plan for New York for three passengers, a family named Becket." McGee informed him.

"Shauna Miller's married name." Gibbs added.

"Seems she's using her soon to be ex's credit card." Kate said smiling, "bad sign is they aren't trying to hide where they're going which means-"

"We're running out of time." Gibbs pulled out his cell.

"I'll call the base get them to hold all flights until we get there." Kate matched his action, retrieving her own cell from her belt.

"No." Gibbs grabbed her hand, halting the action.

"No?" McGee echoed.

"Did I stutter?" Gibbs snapped.

"Boss, we need to do something, there's no way we'll make it there before they take off." McGee completely ignored him.

"We need to let them go, McGee." Gibbs sighed, his focus back on his own cell and dialled a familiar number. "Tony started this, he might as well finish it..."

His voice trailed when the cell connected and they all heard the corresponding ringing. Everyone turned around as one to see Fornell walk into the lounge.

"Seems my timing's impeccable," he regarded each of them, his quizzical gaze landing finally on Gibbs, "Funny, I heard you were shot?"

"What you doing here Tobias?" Gibbs levelled his gaze making it clear he was in no mood for games.

"Depends," Fornell raised an eyebrow, advancing into the kitchen looking to see who else was hiding around the corner, "what did _you_ want with _me_?"

Fornell waggled his phone in the air, reminding him who had called whom first. If he didn't need his help right now Gibbs would have been tempted to deck him.

"They got DiNozzo." He said succinctly.

Seeing regret and not surprise in his FBI counterparts face only confirmed what Gibbs already suspected.

"How long have they known?"

"Gibbs-"

"HOW LONG?" He shouted, his cool completely ran out.

Fornell gave him a telling looking, an apology, or as close to one as either of them would ever get to verbalising one at any rate.

"That's why I'm here," he said eventually.

"To gloat?" Gibbs snapped.

"To help!" Fornell shouted back.

"You can help by getting us a flight to New York."

"Gibbs you need to hold off on that."

"You going to help or not?"

"We are," A Man in a dark suit stepped forward from behind Fornell, putting an end to the shouting match. "Believe me no one wants this case closed more."

"I doubt that." Gibbs replied sarcastically.

"And who are you?" Ducky asked while the rest of them eyed up and assessed the newcomer.

"FBI Assistant Deputy Director Wilkes. Agent Gibbs I presume?" The man flashed his badge.

"Special Agent," Gibbs corrected, ignoring the offered hand.

He didn't usually give much consideration to title, but this guy stood so straight, he felt he needed to push every advantage he had. Fornell must have seen his distrusting look because he immediately tried to forge a peace.

"Gibbs I wouldn't have brought him here if it wasn't important, you want to get DiNozzo back safe you need to hear him out."

"What I _need_ is to get to New York."

"Yes you do," Wilkes nodded to Fornell who, without question, immediately signalled someone waiting outside. "What say we talk on the way?"

Wilkes rested his stance, hands coming together to clasp neatly behind his back as he stood aside the front door indicating those coming were to join him. Gibbs turned and nodded to Ducky, then with a glare at Kate and McGee followed Wilkes and Fornell to the limousine parked outside.

"So how can we help you Agent Wilkes?" Kate asked once inside the car.

"I think it's more how can I help you." Wilkes produced a file marked classified and Gibbs nudged McGee who took it immediately.

"You're reading us in?" He leaned back in his seat as the car pulled away, using the sudden motion to disguise his disbelief.

The FBI never gave information away for free. Even Fornell had a motive whenever their paths crossed, this case being the noted exception of course where Gibbs had actually _asked _for his assistance without offering anything in return.

"Fornell must be a good friend to you Gibbs he doesn't put his neck on the line for just anyone and believe me, I don't usually do house calls" Wilkes chuckled, his manner over friendly.

Gibbs looked at Fornell who was sitting opposite him on Wilkes' left, but he stealthily managed to avoid his gaze. Switching back to the Assistant Deputy Director Gibbs caught the slight tensing around his eyes and a few puzzle pieces quickly clicked into place.

"But there's another reason." He let his lip quirk just enough to set Wilkes at ease.

Like a poor poker player out of luck Wilkes folded, dropping his own fake smile and relaxed charm he sat up straight giving them his full attention.

"This mess landed on my desk from the Deputy Director with strict orders to close as quickly and quietly as possible." He swallowed, shifting his gaze away from Gibbs to Fornell momentarily, "which we were doing until Fornell brought certain facts to my attention regarding the involvement of your Agent DiNozzo."

Gibbs held his reaction in, utilising all his skills as a marine and an agent to keep the stoic look on his face.

"Boss this says Agent Bell was diagnosed a paranoid schizophrenic. It's dated a month before the beginning of Element 79." McGee butted in, head still buried in the file.

Gibbs glared at Wilkes, not talking his eyes off him as he flipped out his cell and pressed speed dial. "Duck, paranoid schizophrenia…"

There was a beat of silence before Ducky's distinctive tone travelled to them through the speaker phone. "Jethro though I am used to your minimalist ways of communicating I'm afraid I need a little more."

"Ducky Bell was a paranoid schizophrenic," Kate began, peeking over McGee's shoulder to read the report, "Seems while undercover he was required to go off his meds-"

"Oh my," Ducky breathed.

"Duck?"

"Well I'm no expert but for a man whose work required him to maintain alternate personalities for a living the stresses involved would certainly be enough to feed a paranoid schizophrenics deluded state even with the help of powerful medications, without he'd almost certainly succumb to the disorder."

"Gibbs," Abby's nervous voice filled the car over the speaker, "ECT is a form of therapy for schizophrenia."

Gibbs, Kate, McGee and Fornell collectively dropped their heads. That little nugget unfortunately explained quite a bit.

"Bell was undercover with the Bonanno family. Hannigan was his handler. In June of '78 FBI funds went missing then not long after Bell went dark. Hannigan was sent in to find the money and pull Bell out."

"So what went wrong?" Gibbs asked when Wilkes hesitated.

"As you already know an official report regarding the time the child was missing was never filed. The only persons who knew the full details of what happened that night are Agent's Bell and Hannigan."

"And Tony," Kate added.

Gibbs glared at her and quickly changed the subject. "What about Bell now?"

"We believe Bell has recently suffered a second psychotic break."

"Second?"

"After the FBI cleaned up Bell was removed from the FBI and committed. He was being treated as a voluntary inpatient up until ten days ago when he received this through the mail." Wilkes produced a letter from his jacket pocket and handed it to Gibbs.

He didn't need to open it to guess what was inside. It was the same handwriting on the same kind of beige envelope that Shauna Miller had held in her possession.

"Let me guess, he checked himself out."

Wilkes nodded, "He's considered dangerous, which was why we brought Hannigan back in as soon as we were aware he was in Washington."

"And Miller?"

"Bringing Miller in was a choice of the team responsible for closing this, his involvement's been problematic, but was manageable."

"Was?" McGee asked when no one else spoke.

"His recent actions towards NCIS, and Hannigan's death, have complicated things."

Gibbs snorted, a disbelieving smile plastered to his face. "So the FBI put an unstable agent undercover twenty-five years ago, and now's it's come back to bite you on the ass you want our help to clean up your mess, that about the size of it?"

"Jethro," Fornell warned.

Gibbs looked over at him and with an eye roll surrendered, a hand gesture indicating Wilkes to continue.

"Special Agent DiNozzo," Wilkes' sigh was too reminiscent of Senior's when he spoke his son's name and it was just enough to push him over the edge.

"What about him?" Gibbs' tone turned hard.

"We believe Bell believes Agent DiNozzo knows where the money is."

Gibbs dropped what was left of his passive aggressive attitude and sat forward, leaning into Wilkes' personal space, making it clear if the FBI got in the way of their rescue they'd be answering to his fist. He needed to protect Tony, confident he was still unaware of the danger he'd stupidly put himself in.

"Well he doesn't." He denied flatly.

"If there's a chance-"

"There isn't."

Wilkes huffed clearly annoyed with his infamous pig-headedness, before checking himself and forcing the fake smile back on his face. "Fornell warned me that you'd be very protective of him."

Gibbs quirked an eyebrow at Fornell, who caught his eye and shrugged back.

"If we stumble across the money when we find Tony NCIS with definitely share the information with the FBI..." Gibbs smiled politely.

"You will?" Wilkes sounded unsure.

"Oh yeah," Gibbs cheered, "I'll send you an email."

He could see by the reaction his reputation as a technophobe preceded him

"Look Gibbs, whatever he knows can only help us, help him." Wilkes snapped, showing his irritation.

"Okay, say I agree to help _you. _Help _me_ understand something," Gibbs started coyly, getting a small head bob from Wilkes. "Tell me how Tony ended up in that alleyway near dying, after being beaten and tortured, and why Hannigan, a god damn FBI agent, was arrested for it?"

Gibbs was as clear as he could be, though even he couldn't hide the desperate wanting in his voice. He needed to know why this happened, for him and for Tony.

"We'd like to know that too." Abby interrupted, shouting down the phone Gibbs hadn't remembered to disconnect.

Wilkes leaned forward, hands clasped and Gibbs prepared himself to hear something he wouldn't like.

"The team did what they thought was best in order to deal with Bell." Wilkes then looked away, ashamed.

Several thoughts flitted through Gibbs mind concerning what he knew about the events that occurred and what Wilkes was saying. According to Tony Hannigan was hurt as well. Hannigan saved him…

Gibbs head snapped up.

"You're telling me it was all sanctioned?" He hissed, fighting to keep calm.

"The FBI team involved in Element 79 were apparently fully informed of events preceding the incident at the DiNozzo house where your boy was unfortunately injured." He nodded, looking genuinely mortified.

"Tony." Gibbs reminded him, choosing to ignore the display of emotion.

"Let me guess, the informant was Henry Miller." Kate interjected.

"Correct." Wilkes answered with a resigned nod.

It didn't need spelling out to Gibbs that the FBI had chosen to protect themselves over the innocent life caught up in their little mafia hunt. In war it was called collateral damage. In the marines? Well they only had one rule…

Semper Fi.

"Son of a bitch," Gibbs whispered under his breath.

"The team did what they believed was best for everyone at the time, the fewer people that knew the truth the better, including the boy…"

"Tony!" Gibbs nearly jumped out of his seat, his fist pressing into the leather seats, inches away from punching Wilkes the same way Tony would have to have been hit to break his nose the way he had. "And you're okay with that?!"

"No I'm not okay with that Agent Gibbs. The FBI does not routinely hold children hostage or perform experimental therapies on them, but I wasn't responsible then and there's not much I can do about it now." Wilkes snapped, sounding as equally perturbed by the disturbing truths.

Gibbs chewed on his cheek, mad as hell, and tempted once this was over to look up and hunt down all those remaining who had been directly responsible for putting a child in danger

"We're assuming Hannigan was killed by Bell?" Kate said into the lingering silence.

"It's seems likely," Fornell spoke for the first time.

"Well that's another one off my list." Gibbs leaned back with chagrin.

"You should know it was Hannigan who made the anonymous call and left the child where he'd be found. I'm not condoning what they did Gibbs, but if he wasn't for him your agent may not have ever grown up to become _your_ agent."

Gibbs couldn't work out if the guy was stupid or really thought telling him this would make him feel indebted to the FBI.

"And that makes up for everything? He was a six!" Gibbs screamed at him, disappointed when Wilkes didn't react.

Gibbs threw his hands up in frustration. He'd had enough. That was it. He was done. Done with the lies, done with people thinking the life of a child was less important than their jobs. Just done.

"People would have been fired, the bureau embarrassed, a case down the drain, but none of that can compare to the life a child-" Gibbs stopped himself short, before the words _my child_ slipped out.

"I wasn't there Gibbs." Wilkes said quietly.

"No you weren't, but you're here now and someone needs to pay." Gibbs looked Wilkes dead in the eye, making it perfectly clear that if the FBI let anyone slide this time around Gibbs fully intended to see justice done his way.

The car came to a stop, the side door opening seconds later.

"I'll see to it personally that those still within the FBI are held responsible." Wilkes nodded, holding his gaze.

He didn't know exactly why, but as he exited the limo to step onto the runway their ride to New York ready to go, Gibbs believed Wilkes actually meant that.

Tbc…


End file.
